Patriot's Dawn
by The Pro
Summary: Uzumaki Naruto was born to be a shinobi. He was supposed to be a killer; a protector of unparalleled skill. His lineage and the demon in his gut ensured that. In canon, his growth was stunted. In here, he had a reason to be strong. He has to survive. AU.
1. Prologue: Questions Without Answers

"_They will hunt you, Uzumaki Naruto_."

Blue eyes, normally vibrant with energy, were shadowed, contemplative even. It was a sight to behold on the blond haired, blue eyed seven year old, though no one was around to see it. A gust of wind gently ruffled the boy's hair as he overlooked the village from on top of the Yondaime Hokage's head.

The eyes, while staring at the vast village below, saw none of it. They saw not the Administration Building, nor the Grand Archive, the Shinobi Academy, or any other building of note. They did, however, see the faint outlines of the numerous shinobi hurriedly entering and exiting the Uchiha District. The once proud, sprawling clan compound was now littered with the blood and corpses of its former members.

And he had met the man who had done the deed.

"_Wha-what?" the short blond asked his uninvited house guest. The boy had experienced some frightening moments in his life, not the least of which had been what he had determined to be an assassination attempt when he was four. This one was beginning to move up the list._

_Those red eyes were both awesome and terrifying, their burning intensity belying the churning emotions behind the emotionless mask his guest wore._

"_They will hunt you, Uzumaki Naruto," Uchiha Itachi spoke. His voice was nearly a monotone, lacking both emotion and inflection that was commonly used. "They will hunt you. They will find you. And they will kill you."_

_Just behind the terror he was feeling, only compounded by the blood spattered ANBU armor the teenager wore, he realized that the shinobi was giving him a message. "W-why? Why are you telling me this?" Naruto asked, his voice quavering._

"_To serve as a warning. Those who would hunt you are both numerous and powerful, some far more powerful than myself," Naruto's once silent protector told him. "There will come a time when the Sandaime's protection will not be enough, a time when this village can no longer protect you. I warn you now so that you may be ready for that day."_

_Naruto, in his entranced state of heightened fear, could not even nod in acceptance of the teenagers point. "Who?" he squeaked. Inwardly, he mentally berated himself of showing such weakness in front of the teenager, though he really couldn't help it. An entire village full of people whose animosity was only barely concealed couldn't break him, so how could this lone teenager inspire such fear in him._

_Itachi paused, seeming to weigh whether or not he should tell Naruto, before, "Akatsuki, and a man named Uchiha Madara."_

_Abruptly, the sense of imminent doom and terror subsided, left with only confusion as the red eyes faded to black. The teenage ANBU made a single seal, before vanishing silently with a small gust of wind._

_His parting words were but a faded whisper upon a breeze. _

"_Survive, Uzumaki Naruto."_

Needless to say, he hadn't been able to sleep. That led him to where he was now, seated atop the stone head of Konoha's greatest hero. It wasn't the most common occurrence to find the blond there, but it was one of the boy's few true haunts; a place where he could be alone to think, away from the judgmental eyes of the villagers.

Naruto usually avoided this spot, preferring to spend his free time training or executing a well thought out prank on some unsuspecting villager, rather than thinking. Thinking was boring, and often painful.

While many, his academy classmates included, would say this as confirmation of his lack of intelligence, it was far from the case. While not the sharpest kunai in the holster, Naruto was far from unintelligent. He merely applied himself to other pursuits.

Thinking was painful because it inevitably led to questions. Tough questions, painful questions, and questions that no one seemed to want to answer. Not even old man Sandaime would answer those questions, and he was one of the few people who were nice to Naruto.

Thinking led to questions like: who his parents were, and why did no one seem to know who they were when he asked? Why did a man in black try to kill him three years ago? Why did everyone seem to hate him, down to the last villager?

With such unanswerable questions plaguing his young mind, it would come as no surprise to anyone that the boy did his best to avoid true introspective thought at all costs. He succeeded too.

Not this time, though.

This time, there was no avoiding the questions, though they were of a different sort. Who was 'Akatsuki'? Who was Uchiha Madara?

Naruto hardly felt that he could go to the Sandaime with questions like these. After all, he couldn't answer the easy questions, like who Naruto's parents were. Why would the old man be able to answer these?

And why would Itachi tell him what he did?

If nothing else, Naruto's thoughts were revolving around this one question the most. He had learned of the teenage ANBU's name when he had made his way to where he was now. He had heard many on duty shinobi speak the name in whispers as he snuck by them. Others had cursed it violently for the destruction he had single handedly carried out.

The fact that the executioner of the Uchiha Clan had warned him of people out to kill him only made the question that much more confusing, and the answer that much more tantalizing.

Not for the first time in his seven years of living, Naruto was confused. It wasn't a feeling he liked. He needed answers, and he needed them quickly, before he could decide what he was going to do.

Unbidden, a statement from one of his sensei's – he thought the scarred man's name was Iruka – made its way to his mind: Information is the backbone of the true shinobi. Without it, a living shinobi was soon to become a dead shinobi.

His course set, he would gather the necessary information before setting a plan of action. According to Itachi, his life was in danger. This was a matter to be taken most seriously, even more seriously than his pranks and his dream to be Hokage. He couldn't just wing it like he usually did.

Blue eyes coming back into focus, Naruto snapped his attention to the circular, black building that served as the Grand Archive. It wasn't a place that Naruto frequented often.

Memories of his last visit to the Archive made themselves known, and Naruto scratched the back of his head, letting out a nervous laugh, unknowingly dispelling the tension in his body. This may prove to be a bit harder than he had first imagined.

/~/

As the Archive workers were still bitter about having their workplace desecrated – orange was a _great_ color, in Naruto's opinion at least – he was left with only one option.

It had taken him the better part of two months, but he had managed to master the Henge no jutsu. It hadn't been easy, not by any stretch of the mill.

As neither of his instructors – the scarred man _was_ named Iruka – had consented to teach him the E-rank ninjutsu, they had said he was nowhere near advanced enough, he had had to resort to more extreme measures.

His first had been his tried and true patented spying. He had snuck out of class in order to watch some of the older students practice the technique, and had "inadvertently" overheard what their instructors were telling them to do with their chakra.

Now, Naruto was far more intelligent than his classmates and teachers gave him credit for, but he wasn't at the level to be able to reverse engineer a technique just by watching it and listening to some vague tips not meant for his ears. His second measure had been the Academy Library, small though it was.

He had thought Suzume-sensei was going to have a heart attack when he asked her where to find a scroll on the Henge. The mousy chunin had looked put out at being forced to help the whiskered student, but had been unable to find a good enough excuse to refuse the blond.

From there it had been naught but nigh endless hours of training as he attempted to figure out the secrets behind the Henge. It likely would have taken him longer, had fortune not smiled on him as he was listening in on a conversation between an older student and an instructor.

Apparently, the trainee was using too much chakra for the Henge to work properly, and the instructor set the girl to doing the leaf sticking exercise, in order to help the girl limit her flow of chakra into the jutsu.

The scroll had said nothing of the sort was necessary, and it was only sheer luck that Naruto had happened upon _that_ gem of information.

Once he had completed the leaf sticking exercise, no easy feat for the blond – he discovered he had a _lot_ of chakra, more than all the students in his class, at least – the Henge became that much easier, and the mastery of the technique finally boiled down to sheer concentration.

And so, he found himself once more outside the Grand Archive, staring dispassionately at the symbol for Fire that was engraved on the side. He took a strand of mousy brown hair in his fingers, quickly checking to make sure that the Henge was still in effect, before striding forward confidently.

Opening the double glass doors, Naruto felt the stale air of the Archive brush over him, grimacing in distaste as the smell of old parchment and paper made itself apparent. Moving quickly, he wanted to spend as little time as physically possible in here, he approached the reference center. Stopping in front of the half circle of wood, his presence was noticed by an attractive, auburn haired girl who looked no older than thirteen.

"May I help you?" she asked politely, her voice having a pleasant lilt to it. A smile appeared on her face as she took in the form of the seven year old.

Naruto barely withheld a scowl. It had been this girl who had denied him entry two months previous, citing that he was banned until such a point when he became a full fledged shinobi. She had been rather polite about it, but it didn't raise Naruto's opinion of her.

"Where can I find information on the Uchiha Clan?" he asked, using his best "innocent" look. It was complete with wide blue eyes, the only defining feature Naruto had left unchanged by his Henge.

The girl didn't bat an eye when he asked for information about the once great clan. He assumed that he wasn't the only one looking to become more informed of them since their rather untimely demise. "Right this way, dear," she said with a smile. It was a pretty smile.

He followed the attractive girl to the middle of the library that had been marked and designated as 'Clans'. From what little Naruto understood about the Archive, he knew that this area held all the non-classified information on Konoha's various shinobi clans. The information was far from sensitive, though it often contained some small amount of information about the better known clan techniques. The majority, however, dealt with clan history.

Hopefully, that would be all that Naruto would need.

He quietly thanked the pretty girl who had helped him, receiving an offer for any future help that he may need. Her name was Mai.

He tentatively opened the book that the assistant had gotten for him, and was promptly confused. The history book, like all others, started at the beginning. It was a general book, dealing with some information dating back before the founding of Konoha, though not much. It came as quite the surprise to find the name Uchiha Madara on the first page.

Naruto sighed heavily. The book stated that Madara had been one of Konoha's founding fathers, alongside Senju Hashirama, Konoha's Shodai. That made him older than the Sandaime by a few decades. It was going to be one of those days.

That, of course, raised even more questions. Naruto highly doubted that Itachi had intentionally misled him. Naruto had had a few encounters with the Uchiha before _that_ night, and it simply wasn't in the stoic teenager's nature to give misinformation. The boy had been the epitome of professionalism. Not to mention, he was in ANBU. Everyone in the village knew that _those_ guys had no sense of humor.

With all other avenues exhausted, Naruto's young mind was forced to wrap around the idea that either Itachi had been wrong, or that Madara really _was_ alive.

Regardless, he had work to do. Even if Itachi had been wrong about Madara, Naruto didn't think he would mislead him about having some shady organization after his head. Itachi had also said that some members were stronger than him. Now, while Naruto had no real idea of how strong Itachi was, he had apparently wiped out the Uchiha Clan single-handedly. That took some serious skills. If people stronger than Itachi were after him…Naruto shuddered. He didn't want to think about what might happen.

Hell, he didn't even know if these mysterious murderers were even stronger than the Sandaime. Two months ago, he wouldn't have even entertained the notion. The old man was Hokage. He was the strongest. The last two months of observation and training had opened his eyes some, though, and Itachi's message hadn't done much to help him keep a stable world view.

The truth of the matter was, the old man was, well, old. While old didn't mean weak, he was still the Hokage after all, being old certainly didn't make him any better. Not physically at least. He couldn't remember how many times the old man had preached to him about how a shinobi needed to use his mind just as much, if not more, than his body.

Naruto was starting to see how that might be necessary.

Itachi was a thinker, if all he had heard about the prodigy lately had been true. The old man was a thinker, a great one, if Iruka-sensei's lectures about Konoha's history were to be believed. Hell, this Madara character was likely a thinker. If he really _was_ alive, which was doubtful – the book said he had lost a battle with the Shodai, and had never been seen again – then he must have been pretty smart to survive unnoticed for so long.

Naruto shook his head, closing his book lightly, watching dispassionately as the resulting displaced air fluttered some pages that were spread across his table. Looking outside, he noticed that some time had passed. The sun had moved enough that a couple of hours might well have gone by. How he hated thinking.

He stood fluidly, stretching his tight muscles. Naruto brushed an errant lock of brown hair out of his face as he moved to the front of the Achive. He gave his book to the attendant; it wasn't the same girl as before, he noted. Too bad.

Stepping out of the grand building, his eyes automatically found the face of the Fourth Hokage. His idol. He shook his head. Nothing was the same any more. His grand dream to be Hokage seemed insignificant compared to the monumental mountain that had been dropped in front of him. With becoming Hokage, he had had time. Plenty of it, in fact. The path had been fairly clear cut, as well. Genin, chunin, jonin, they were all milestones on his grand journey.

Now though, he had to survive. He sighed heavily, it was becoming a pattern.

Glancing around the street, Naruto observed the crowd moving back and forth. Not a single one looked his way. That wasn't anything new, at least. It really was amazing how alone you could be in a crowd.

Unbidden, a scowl crossed his seven year old visage. Had he looked in the mirror, he would have wondered who was staring back. What did these people have against him? What had he ever done? Nothing, save a few rather harmless pranks. They had ignored him even before that.

Acknowledgement? Fuck that. He had bigger things to worry about now.

"Akatsuki." He tested the name of his new enemy. A familiar determination spread through him, igniting his nerves and giving him Goosebumps. He'd show them. All of them. No villager, ninja, or even Uchiha Madara himself would stop him.

Uzumaki Naruto wasn't going down without a fight, and a damn good one at that. Believe it.

/~/

Naruto exhaled slowly as his kick split the air. Pulling it back at the knee, while still keeping the leg airborne, he kicked out once more, just as slowly.

He had been doing much of that lately. His new determination to survive had sparked sessions of intense training. Unfortunately, his instructors at the Academy had been less than helpful in his endeavors to better himself. They had said he needed a more solid foundation before he could learn more advanced techniques. Naruto was starting to see what they meant.

Before, he would have simply brushed their comments off, disregarding them in the face of his undeniable awesomeness. It turned out that he wasn't really that awesome. He had Uchiha Sasuke to thank for that little lesson.

Unfortunately, he had apparently made such a bad impression on his teachers that they were unwilling to help, even when he asked for some remedial lessons. _That_ had pissed the blond off like nothing else. Here he was, swallowing his pride and looking to advance his skills, and they simply brushed him off. Weren't they paid to teach people? Last he checked, he was still a person.

Apparently they had more pressing matters to attend to.

He had considered appealing to the Hokage, surely he would be able to make them help out, but had hesitated. He had been somewhat wary of the office of late. Itachi's warning still rang true in his ears during his moments of introspection.

"_There will come a time when the Sandaime's protection will not be enough…"_

If he couldn't solve a small problem like this without help from the old man, how would he ever be able to survive against a group of ninja dedicated to his death? That decided it. He would deal with his problems on his own.

That, naturally, had lead him to where he was presently: dancing through the Academy's taijutsu katas. Well, more like stumbling through. It turned out that learning taijutsu wasn't all that easy on one's own. Scrolls could only help so much, as one couldn't really be sure if they were doing the move correctly. Stances were hard to gauge, proper footing was impossible to know, one could never be sure of block, and most all but the simplest maneuvers were almost out of reach. If one wanted to do them right that is.

Learning crappy taijutsu from a scroll was easy.

Sitting on the grass gently, Naruto pulled a ball of bandages from his hip pouch. He began wrapping his hands. When he didn't move through the katas of the Academy, he punched logs. It was boring, mindless, and tedious, but it helped to strengthen his fists and was therefore useful.

If it was useful, he did it. That was part of his new nindo, his ninja way.

Punching, at least, was something he knew he was doing correctly. It was one of the few things the academy instructors had consented to help him with. It fit the m.o. of the staff there perfectly, at least in regards to him. They almost never outright refused to help him, and when they did they usually had some contrived reason, but they always did the bare minimum when it came to their help. _Useless chunin_, the blond thought uncharitably.

Brooding and negative thoughts weren't something Naruto liked to have most of the time, they certainly didn't help keep his spirits up in regards to his new objective, but he found himself having them more and more. This was especially the case when the various offences against him kept piling up. Just the other day he had overhear Yamanaka Ino asking for help with _her_ taijutsu – an occurrence that wasn't common – and Iruka-sensei had been only too happy to help. Bloody hypocrite.

He wasn't sure if these movements against him were new or if he was just more observant of them, but they were all downright annoying. Some were to the point of being deliberately harmful to him. His instructors wouldn't teach him much of anything, shopkeepers sold him crappy goods – if at all – and that didn't even begin to cover how many people outright glared at him when he walked by.

His former dreams of acknowledgement and acceptance were becoming distant memories as he noticed the hatred the Konoha populace seemed to have for him. He wondered how he had brushed it off before.

Fury spiked through him. What had he done to them? What the hell could he have _possibly_ done to deserve such hatred? The answer was nothing.

The training log met his fist with a brutal 'thunk', and Naruto recoiled in pain before deflating. He had channeled all of his pent up anger into that punch. He didn't even splinter the wood. "Kami damn it!" he cursed softly. He cradled his right arm to his body, watching as the blood seeped through the bandages.

He jumped in surprise, startled as a hand came to rest on his shoulder. The sight that met his eyes was an odd one.

"It warms my heart indeed to see such youthful fire burning in one so young!" the man said. He was dressed in a green leotard, likely made of spandex, orange leg warmers, and a standard flak vest that was issued to all Konoha ninja chunin and above. Naruto, however, had his eyes fixed on the man's face. Those things above his eyes _had_ to be caterpillars. There was no other explanation for eyebrows that big.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked, complete with all the bluntness of a seven year old. Who needed tact?

Apparently, Maito Gai didn't, as he introduced himself exuberantly; much to Naruto's confusion. "I couldn't help but notice your practice of taijutsu. A fine endeavor indeed for as young as yourself, but…" he trailed off his head cocked to the side thoughtfully.

The cleverness that had turned Naruto into a rather infamous prankster reared its head. Violently. "Is there something wrong with my taijutsu, Maito-san?" he asked, sensing an opening. The green clad man was strong, of that there was no doubt in the boy's mind. If he was willing to help him…

"I'm afraid so Naruto-kun." Naruto hadn't had to introduce himself. "For you see, taijutsu is an art that needs to be taught from sensei to student, and scrolls can only take one so far." Gai's voice had adopted a lecturing, almost sage like quality. "Do not fret, though! I, Konoha's beautiful Green Beast would be more than happy to help one so clearly in the springtime of youth!"

Naruto wasn't quite sure what the man meant about beasts and the like, but he was pretty sure that he had just offered to teach him. That wasn't something he was about to pass up.

/~/

One month. Four weeks. If he ever looked back, Naruto was sure that he would remember these past weeks. The aches, pains, and almost never ending soreness would ensure _that_. Gai had been impressed with his stamina regardless, but Naruto wished he could have done more.

Truly, the man deserved his self determined moniker. He was a beast indeed.

Four weeks of almost nothing but taijutsu training. He couldn't be happier with his progress. He had been intense at the start, hoping to impress the helpful jonin enough so that he wouldn't simply brush him off. That had lasted until he had looked the man up. His intensity had likely tripled after that.

Maito Gai. A taijutsu master. _The_ taijutsu master if the records were to be believed. The man was Konoha's foremost expert on the particular branch of the ninja arts. He was also a rather formidable jonin. He ranked somewhere in Konoha's top ten.

And he had just decided to help him, for no other reason than to help out a child full of "youthful fire". It was amazing. Looked like even he could catch a lucky break sometimes.

The man really knew his subject too. Stances became rigid. Blocks and guards were solidified. Punches, kicks and other maneuvers became fluid under the man's teaching. His speed had increased too. The eccentric jonin had been kind enough to foot the bill for a set of leg weights for Naruto, though he had stressed the concept of proper rest. It wouldn't do to injure himself because he bit off more than he could chew.

Really, he couldn't have been luckier. The standing invitation to train with him and his "youthful student" was going to be exploited as much as possible.

He knew he was far from a taijutsu master. He likely wasn't even the best in his class; that honor belonged to the enigmatic Uchiha Sasuke, certified genius that he was. Even so, his brief time under Gai's tutelage had placed him at the middle of the pack at the least, as recent spars had shown. He was likely better than that, but it was always best to maintain a humble attitude toward one's own skills. His humility had been forced upon him via necessity.

It was all for the best, however, as he was finally starting to make some progress. A solid foundation was the key to future success.

Taijutsu hadn't been the only thing that Gai had helped him with. His accuracy had improved tremendously with thrown weapons. His technique had been inefficient, apparently. It wasn't overtly bad and would get the job done, but he lost a lot of potential power behind his throws, and accuracy was hard to come by, especially as he wasn't always using the exact same motion each time.

Some of the anger he had felt then threatened to spill out as he shut the door to his apartment, all one room of it. He had learned his throwing technique at the Academy. It fit the way the teachers operated perfectly. The taught technique would get the job done. It just wasn't as good as it could or should be. The inferior technique could easily be blamed on Naruto's lack of attention and practice, if it ever came under question.

He had vented his anger in the taijutsu work he had done later that day, though some of it still remained. His emotional control wasn't helped any by the liberal helping of glares he received as he wove through Konoha's morning crowds. He kept his eyes firmly forward, if not on his feet. He knew it wasn't below some villagers to cuff him if he appeared antagonistic, especially in a crowd. That had been the start of his bubbly persona. They had no reason to do anything to him if he was constantly friendly and outgoing.

What a waste that had been. Striving for their acknowledgement had likely been the largest waste of his time in his seven years of living. He still did to some extent, as only an emotionally neglected child could, but he had much bigger things to worry about.

The game had changed. Striving for the acknowledgement and attention of an antagonistic populace had no place in his fight to survive. It was a refreshing change of mind.

Blinking, Naruto noticed with some wonder that his feet had brought him to the Academy. Had he really been that lost in thought? He scoffed. His academy instructors would likely have to pick their jaws off the floor if they knew how much he was thinking these days. It clashed horribly with their view of him. That likely wouldn't change for some time, though he suspected his new effort in class would draw some attention. He didn't hold out hope that it would be the good kind.

He took his seat with a short nod and smile to Inuzuka Kiba. The canine ninja was one of his running buddies whenever they had decided to cut class, though Naruto was seriously cutting back.

"Any idea what t'day's lecture's gonna be about?" he asked Nara Shikamaru gruffly. The boy was smart. He was also lazy. He thought he was likely the laziest person in all of Fire Country. Akimichi CHouji disagreed. _He_ thought he was the laziest person in the whole Elemental Nations.

The boy grunted. He was obviously too bothered to answer. Sleep was a full time job for Shikamaru, much like eating was a full time job for Chouji. Naruto didn't complain. He often got to mooch some of the boy's endless chips.

"Too troublesome to answer?" he asked with a foxy grin. The lack of answer was expected. "Bah, it'll prolly be boring all the same. Right, Chouji?"

"Probably, Naruto. Chip?"

"Thanks, mate."

The lecture _was_ boring. Not that that was ever truly in question. While Naruto admitted that the scarred chunin knew his stuff, he could at least make an effort to make it somewhat engaging. It didn't help matters that the information likely wouldn't serve any purpose beyond the Academy tests. Who really needed to know about the mysterious figure that was the Shodai's wife? Not everyone was Haruno Sakura or Yamanaka Ino with their academic drive.

A soft smile rose to the blonde's face as he thought about the pretty blond haired girl.

After the lecture, Iruka brought the class to the weapon's range. Each student had a slot where they were supposed to sink six shuriken, the standard brace size, into the target. It was harder than Iruka and Mizuki, his assistant, made it look. Practice normally went on for half an hour, while the two instructors would make their way through the group of students and correct them where they saw fit. Naruto was often left for last. More often than not, his "instruction" got cut off when the practice ended.

He could deal with that though. Accuracy was one thing that could be improved on one's own. Now that his technique was fixed up, he hoped that his accuracy would rise.

It proved true not a few moments later. He smiled in satisfaction as he caught his breath – it had become heavier as he put force into the throws. Four of the six were imbedded in the target. One was not even an inch off the bull's-eye. Two thirds was good, considering he was barely at one third just a month ago.

Progress was slow, he thought as he removed the shuriken from the target, but it was still progress.

Moving back to his starting line, he launched all six stars again, this time one at a time. Four out of the six stuck again, but one had glanced off another, the angle so perfect that it had directed the shuriken into the bull's-eye. His smirk threatened to split his face when he caught sight of Iruka's raised brows.

"What'd you think of that, Iruka-sensei?" he asked obnoxiously. The scarred man called an end to practice without an answer.

He'd have to work on that trick. It might come in handy some day, though he suspected that it might be easier with kunai. The short blades were a larger target by design; they were also heavier, making it easier to affect them in flight while still keeping on target. Shuriken were too light for that sort of intentional showmanship.

The rest of the class didn't need to know that though. Uchiha Sasuke had an unknown look on his face. It seemed calculating to Naruto's untrained eyes, but who was to say?

From target practice, the class moved to the center of the Academy's designated training ground. That meant it was time for sparring. The one on one bouts were viewed by the whole class. Once the fight was finished, the instructor, be it Iruka or Mizuki, would review the fight with the class as a whole. They often went over strategy and what worked and what didn't. The student's were often tasked with coming up with their own solutions to the problems they had, the idea being that one learned more if they fixed the problem themselves. The instructors were always available to help, however. At least if your name wasn't Uzumaki Naruto.

The fights proceeded without incident. Kiba had too much focus on full frontal attacks. Shikamaru was too defensive. Chouji made openings for himself, but hesitated too much. Sakura needed more punching power. Ino needed a haircut, though not much else. Shino was too stiff with his movements. Hinata hesitated twice as much as Chouji, though her Jyuuken made up for most of her other faults.

In the end, it was down to Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto didn't know the meaning of the word cliché, but that's how he would have described it if he did. Iruka-sensei was most likely trying to take him down a peg or five. Uchiha Sasuke was the class' resident genius. No one save Shino and Kiba had ever managed to get more than a glancing blow on the boy. Naruto didn't much care.

The class spread out from the two fighters. The combatants were encouraged to use their environment to their advantage, so being too close to the fight was just asking for trouble. Suitably competitive fighters wouldn't hesitate to bowl over anyone who happened to get in their way. Naruto winced in remembrance of when he was used as a shield by Ino when she had fought Sakura two classes previous. He didn't quite know where the instructors got off telling the girl she needed more punching power.

Naruto bounced on the balls of his feet as the crowd of students backed up. Gai's lessons about having an explosive first step sounded loudly through his mind. The initiative could decide the outcome of a fight better than any level of skill. Most shinobi fights didn't last long enough for true skill to shine through.

Iruka signaled the start of the fight. Naruto sprang forward, hoping to steal the initiative. His right leg shot out in a near-perfect mid-air roundhouse kick. He hit nothing but air as Sasuke ducked under the strike.

The raven haired boy didn't wait for Naruto to recover, snapping a quick kick at Naruto's chest from his low position. The blond blocked with both arms crossed, but winced lightly as the kick connected. Sasuke wasn't much bigger than him, but he hit _hard_. _Doesn't matter_, Naruto thought fiercely.

His landing was less graceful than he would have liked, but he regained his footing nonetheless. It wasn't a moment too soon, as Naruto moved his face to the left to avoid Sasuke's fist. The displaced air whispered across his skin as he moved inside the Uchiha's guard, snapping off a backhand fist that connected solidly with Sasuke's face.

If the Uchiha was surprised at being hit, he didn't show it. The boy rolled with the punch, and snapped off one of his own that was blocked by Naruto's face. The two separated quickly, Naruto blinking back tears of pain. He glared fiercely at his opponent, though his feeble attempt to turn him to ash failed.

Muscles flexed, coiled, and uncoiled as the two boys threw themselves back into the fight, each looking for almost nonexistent openings in each other's guard. Naruto, so far, was thoroughly pleased with the encounter. He had held his own quite well.

He had watched the Uchiha's fights closely in the past months, and he had managed to develop a thin sort of strategy. The best plans were the flexible ones. His first hope for the fight had been to take the initiative early. That attempt had failed rather easily, and he now had to reevaluate his options.

He made a split second decision.

Leaping head first into the fray, Naruto jumped inside the larger boy's guard but, instead of immediately attacking, feinted forward. Sasuke reacted instinctively, bringing his right arm into a textbook guard, but was unprepared for Naruto to grab the offending appendage. From there, life was good for the blond as he laid two heavy haymakers into the Uchiha's face before the raven haired boy managed to wrench himself from Naruto's grip.

Sasuke made to make space, but Naruto wasn't giving up that easily. Charging forward, Naruto made to strike high, but dropped at the last moment and performed a textbook leg sweep. The Uchiha was knocked of his feet, but acquitted himself nicely by landing a solid kick to Naruto's stomach.

The raven haired boy landed an uppercut to Naruto's chin, but received a smack to both ears in return. Naruto, reeling from the blow, shook his head before charging low. The Uchiha was unprepared for the blonde's bum-rush maneuver, and had the wind knocked out of him as he hit the ground hard.

Naruto, while both smaller and lighter than Sasuke, had unintentionally managed to position himself perfectly on top of his opponent, ensuring that Sasuke couldn't maneuver his body to a certain extent. Leaning forward, he laid into the Uchiha, landing five hard punches to the boy's face.

Victory was in his sights, as Iruka would surely call the match. Naruto peripherally felt a pair of legs snap around his neck, and blinked in confusion as he saw a victorious snarl cross Sasuke's face.

He opened his eyes blearily. _Huh, the sky is really blue, isn't it?_ he thought. A scarred face disrupted his view. "Neh, Iruka-sensei! You ruined my view," he complained loudly. The sound of laughter assaulted his ears, and he turned his head in order to view his tittering classmates.

"Get up, Naruto," Iruka demanded. Naruto noticed it wasn't quite as harsh as usual. He brushed it off; it wasn't important. He reluctantly obliged the chunin, though his body seemed to protest. Loudly.

"As you were unconscious at the time, you don't know what the class went over after your fight. I suggest you get the notes from one of your classmates," the instructor stated stiffly. Naruto just nodded in acceptance. His memories of the fight were flowing back rather steadily.

His only mistake had been leaning too low over Sasuke when he had had him pinned. Being too low allowed for one's opponent to apply a leg-choke-hold. Sasuke had apparently demonstrated this rather well, as Naruto managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. He grimaced as feeling returned to his neck.

Blue eyes sought onyx as Naruto glanced about. He spied Sasuke with an ice pack held to his jaw. He glared balefully at those who attempted to help him. Apparently, he didn't need any help. The newly forming bruises on his face didn't agree.

As Naruto caught the clan heir's attention, he nodded, hoping to convey the message "good fight" through the simple gesture. Surprisingly, Sasuke nodded back.

/~/

A twelve year old Naruto sputtered as he spit grass out of his mouth. _I guess this is what they mean by eating dirt_.

It was a rare occurrence, thankfully. The taste of grass and dirt was not one that Naruto wanted to get used to. Unfortunately, his sparring partner had other ideas.

Naruto didn't even flinch as he narrowly avoided a chakra enhanced haymaker. He had enough bruises coming from this fight already. He wasn't about to let Sasuke land a near cheap shot on his face that easily.

The blond danced out of the way of his sparring partner's follow kick easily. It looked almost choreographed in its simplicity.

Footwork changed, stances flowed, and Naruto sprang forward with the force of a cannon, his weight and chakra carefully flowing into his outstretched elbow. Air whistled past his ears and he snarled happily as Sasuke was only able to redirect the blow. The elbow had caught him in the right shoulder, spinning him round.

Two steps and a minor weight adjustment later, Naruto's left footed roundhouse kick had sent Sasuke hurtling toward a nearby tree. The boy managed to right himself in mid-air, and landed gracefully. Red eyes regarded Naruto balefully as their owner clutched his chest.

Blue eyes narrowed and Naruto sighed inwardly. Sasuke had activated his Sharingan not a full year ago; he had managed to get dragged into "testing its limits" as the young Uchiha put it. He could say with full honesty that he hated those eyes. It had been more than difficult to keep up the clan heir before he had activated his kekkei genkai. Now it was nearly impossible.

His taijutsu superiority had all but disappeared in the last year, his tri-weekly sessions with Gai having little effect overall. That wasn't to say that he wasn't improving. It was just that Sasuke's already high learning curve became even higher. _Bloody genius_.

The Uchiha had made one of the smarter decisions of his life once he had activated the famed dojutsu. He had decided _against_ letting the world know about it. Naruto heartily approved. A shinobi always had his secrets. Just like Naruto would never let Sasuke know that he wore a full set of both leg and arm weights under his long sleeved clothing.

It wouldn't do well to reveal his trump card. Naruto was sure that Sasuke had a few tricks up his short sleeves as well.

Naruto absently dodged a high kick to the neck, and moved swiftly under its follow up. Snapping out a palm, he felt the heel of his hand just miss its target, Sasuke's eyes allowing him to predict the motion before it was complete. The offending appendage was grabbed tightly, but pushed himself forward, rather than back, throwing Sasuke off balance. Panting his feet and re-shifting, Naruto used his superior strength to hurl Sasuke over his shoulder.

The boy landed just as gracefully as before, however, and Naruto grimaced. A neutral fight was pretty much all he could hope for once Sasuke brought out his eyes. The acclaimed genius might not be fully experienced with the dojutsu, but he learned fast. And those eyes taught on their own.

Naruto wasn't about to go full speed at the boy, even with his weights on. They both held back considerably here, neither wanted to be injured in a spar that meant nothing. Naruto was similarly reluctant to break out the few ninjutsu he knew. While they might turn the tide in the short term, it would only hurt him in the long term. Sasuke knew a few ninjutsu himself, and there was no doubt that the Sharingan would copy everything Naruto threw at him anyway.

Life just wasn't fair sometimes. Though it wasn't fair nearly all the time, in the case of Naruto.

As such, he was often left taking a beating from his sparring partner. He consoled himself with the knowledge that he was getting better just as much, even if his progress was that much slower than the prodigal Uchiha's.

The two rushed each other at some unspoken signal, and two punches were caught with a smack of skin on skin. They separated just as quickly, each one making space. Each dodged the other's punch this time, Naruto by a lesser margin than Sasuke, and the blond kicked out. Two shins met in the middle and each boy winced.

Leaping back, the two regarded each other with calculating eyes, each assessing the other. Naruto smiled. "Well?"

"Hn." Sasuke nodded. The two relaxed immediately.

Naruto collapsed heavily against a nearby tree; Sasuke joined him moments later. "Not bad, in my _esteemed_ opinion, at least."

Sasuke snorted. "If your opinion mattered, the standard Konoha uniform would be entirely orange and there would be a yearly ramen festival."

"It's not my fault nobody recognizes what an awesome color orange is!" He didn't bother refuting the second part of the statement.

"Why don't you wear it then?"

"I _do_ wear it, just…not during training," Naruto trailed off lamely. The truth was, orange was a horrible color for shinobi. It had taken Naruto about a full year into his stint at the Academy to realize that orange wasn't a practical color for a shinobi. In fact, it was a downright horrible color for a ninja. That was doubly so for a Konoha ninja, given the general greenery of the area.

One of Naruto's lesser known goals was to one day be skilled enough for his color of choice not to matter. Even he knew that that day was far, far in the future.

"Anyway…back on topic?" Naruto began.

"Hmph." The response was almost eloquent in its simplicity. Naruto would forever envy Sasuke's ability to sound cool with such a minimal response. Not that anyone would ever find out. "Not bad, I suppose. The hits are harder, more precise. You've gotten faster." The unasked question went unanswered. Every ninja had their tricks. Sasuke would never know about Naruto's leg weights if the blond had anything to say about it.

Naruto nodded seriously, silently appreciating the bluntness of the conversation. Neither of them liked to dick around. "Thanks. About the same form my end. You've managed to include a few new moves since last time." Getting your techniques stolen was an occupational hazard of training with a Sharingan user. Naruto didn't much mind. He was essentially bastardizing Gai's goken style as it was. Complaining about his training partner stealing it would be hypocritical. As long as the Uchiha didn't take any of his ninjutsu, few that they were, he was just fine.

"Gai teach you anything new?"

Naruto shrugged. "I'm working on some things, but nothin's done just yet. It's more internal chakra stuff than anything else."

"Useful?" The thought of Naruto learning a new technique, and then his copying of it, was something of interest to the Uchiha.

"Maybe." Now Sasuke was really interested. Naruto didn't deflect questions very often. He didn't have the mental capacity or personality, in Sasuke's opinion at least. His dodging of the question spoke volumes about how useful this technique might actually be. Sasuke knew better than to push, though. Naruto would lock up tighter than the Hokage's private ANBU security detail.

"Good for tomorrow?" Naruto asked, trying to move the conversation forward.

Sasuke actually laughed, though it was more of a chuckle. "Is that a question, idiot?"

Naruto had the grace to blush. Sasuke was the number one rookie for a reason. "Ah, guess not. Not worried then?"

"Of course not. I'd be more worried about yourself, dobe."

Righteous anger quickly bubbled to the surface. "I haven't been dead last for four years now, teme! Why do ya' have to call me that?"

"Guess it just stuck. Why do you call me teme?" Sasuke reflected the question with unearthly skill.

"It fits! Don't!" he exclaimed when Sasuke looked about to interrupt. The boy settled for a vicious smirk. "You're a total douche to everyone. _Teme_ makes sense. Dead last isn't a great nickname for the number two in class."

The smirk never left the Uchiha's face. "Maybe, dobe." Naruto sputtered in indignation. He was ignored. "Still, second best is still last in my book."

"Good thing _your_ book isn't the grade book, then. If those dammed written tests didn't mean so much, you'd actually have to work some to keep that one spot."

Sasuke got up to make his exit from the training ground, idly wiping the residual dirt from his shorts. "As if, Uzumaki. Try not to fail tomorrow."

"You too, asshole." Naruto flipped him off. Sasuke just snorted. They were friends.

Naruto didn't bother to watch as Sasuke disappeared from his sight line. His mind was on other things. More important things. Tomorrow marked the true beginning of his ninja career. He wouldn't be too ashamed to admit that he was more than a little nervous. Not for the graduation test, he was second in his class for a good reason. No, he was nervous because for every step towards skill and power he took, it was one more step toward his enemies.

_Akatsuki_, he thought with hatred, though it wasn't particularly focused. He didn't know who they were. He didn't know what they were after. All he knew was that they were strong enough that Konoha wouldn't be able to protect him for long. Every minute of every hour of every day he had spent training was working toward the eventual confrontation he would have with the organization.

He would be ready. Believe it.

/~/

**Author's note: Well, here's the new story. Credit goes to a guy by the name of -and-only for giving me the plot idea. It revolved around a particular scene in the story Failing Twilight**. **Now, no offense to a damn good author, I pretty much took offense at the scene, and decided to do my own thing with the idea behind it. To those who know the fic, you'll know what scene I'm talking about, and you probably know why I didn't like it all that much. Anyway, this is my idea.**

**I probably won't be updating for a bit as I want to have more written, but I have about 35,000 words done, and this was begging to be published.**

**Read, review, etc. Constructive criticism is always wanted.**

**Peace out,**

**Sage  
**


	2. Chapter 1: Graduation

His body was awake and alert the moment the alarm began to blare. Blue eyes snapped to attention and regarded his room with earnest. The ceiling was still off white, the wallpaper was peeling off in the appropriate places, and the sun filtered in through the too thin blinds. This was home.

Naruto sat up blearily, idly turning off his alarm. _Bloody annoyance_. The blond shook his head quickly, shaking out the cobwebs of sleep that had been overridden by his momentary alertness. If there was no immediate threat or interesting action being performed, the body reverted back to what it always was in the morning. Being tired.

Naruto hated mornings.

He slipped his slippers on as he rose. A pot of water for tea was boiling before he made his way to the bathroom to complete his daily morning routine. One leak and a cup of tea later, his blue eyes had their usual intensity back. They would remain so for the next sixteen hours at the least.

It was seven minutes past seven when Naruto finished his tea. Just enough time to properly dress and make his way to the Academy.

He pulled on a pair of black pants with a forest green short sleeve top over them. Black shinobi sandals completed his ensemble, along with carefully wrapped bandages along his lower claves and forearms. His ankle weights were carefully concealed beneath his pant legs. His weapon's pouches were strapped in their appropriate places.

The lights were off and his major appliances had been unplugged as he left his studio apartment. The landlord didn't need any real excuse to charge him more for electricity. A minor application of chakra masked his appearance as he exited his apartment building, and he began to weave his way through the busy morning traffic of Konoha.

The brown haired youth gently pushed his way into one of the many stalls that lined Konoha's streets. It was one of his favorite breakfast haunts. Uzumaki Naruto wasn't allowed. The brown haired, brown eyed Koemi Lee had no such problems.

He munched on a breakfast roll happily as he bobbed and wove through the thick crowds. A smile crossed his un-whiskered face as he enjoyed the feeling of having no eyes on him. Well, save for the ANBU on the rooftops. It was one of his guilty pleasures. There was much happiness to be had simply from not being noticed or glared at by the general populace. It was too bad it didn't last after he removed his minor Henge.

His arrival at Konoha's Ninja Academy coincided with his finishing of his breakfast roll. He carefully cleaned his hands with a napkin and water from the fountain near the Academy's entrance. Ruffling his hair as he approached the classroom, a smirk threatened to split his face.

He pushed the door to the room open to be met with the raised voices of the twenty or so students who were already there. All of them seemed to be trying to talk over each other, though he noticed a few nervous souls doing some last minute studying in the corner.

It was graduation, and Uzumaki Naruto was about to arrive. Believe it.

"It's me, bitches!" he announced as he swaggered in. Kiba snorted up top. Chouji snickered around his mouthful of chips. Shikamaru simply laid his head on the desk. He was probably already asleep. Taxing activities like expressions were far too troublesome for the Nara.

"A little confident, eh Naruto?" Chouji asked good naturedly.

"With good reason, mate," Naruto said as he strode up the wooden steps to his seat. He tossed a quick wink to a few tittering girls at the front. His already large smirk became absolutely devilish as they blushed. _Take _that_ Sasuke!_

"Bah! Cocky, that's what you are," Kiba barked from his position. "You know full well that Akamaru and me could take you any day."

"Don't be so sure about that, doggy boy. You'd prolly be a handicap for Akamaru over there." At Kiba's growl, Naruto held up a hand. "Don't even bother! We all know who wears the pants in your relationship. Ain't that right Akamaru?" The small dog yipped happily in response.

Chouji laughed as Kiba grumbled about traitorous partners. Even Shikamaru managed a snort. Now _that_ was something of note. Naruto expected the lazy boy to be fast asleep by now. He certainly had no problems with doing so in the past. He and Chouji often talked about how they thought the boy could likely sleep standing up. If it wasn't too troublesome, of course.

"Chips, Naruto?" Chouji asked. The blond declined politely. "Nervous? Eating can take your mind off the test, you know?"

"Nah, mate." Naruto shook his head. The confident smirk had faded; it was replaced by a serious look that seemed out of place on the usually smiling visage. "I figure I got to number two already. That counts for something."

Chouki just shrugged, so Kiba picked up the slack, having finished licking his proverbial wounds. "You sure 'bout that? My sister graduated a few years back. She was downright bitchy in the lead up. Said it was the hardest thing she ever studied for."

Naruto copied Chouji in his manner of expression. "Maybe. It's a three part-er. Written, ninjutsu, and taijutsu. I've had the ninjutsu down for a couple of years now, and my taijutsu had been top for almost the same." He wasn't bragging, simply stating facts. "That's two out of three right there, and my written tests have gotten better. I figure that I've got this, even if I don't finish top."

His own speech seemed to have eased some of the tension among the small group. His casual recounting of his own skills had reminded his contemporaries that they were similarly qualified, if not quite as good. A merry band of misfits they may be, but they weren't incompetent. At least not entirely.

The momentary reverie was broken by the sound of squealing. Naruto winced appropriately as the overly loud voices of Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino reached his ears.

"_I'm _gonna sit next to him!"

"No, _I_ am, Ino-pig!"

"Fat chance, forehead-girl!"

Cute girls they may be, but it was far too early for their pointless squabbles over the widely coveted seat next to Uchiha Sasuke. Naruto winced in sympathy for the raven haired boy. He, along with the rest of the male population, was more than a little jealous of the good looking Uchiha. That didn't mean he wanted to have the "twin harpies" crowing over him twenty four seven.

The two were rapidly approaching their object of affection, and the boy in question looked none too happy. Naruto decided to take pity on his friend for the moment, and perhaps the girls given the look the boy had on his face, as a brilliant idea struck him.

Catching Sasuke's eye, he made four hand seals. The boy simply rolled his eyes in irritation. Naruto took that as his cue.

Speeding through the seals, Naruto executed a textbook Kawarimi no Jutsu with Sasuke, just as Yamanaka Ino claimed the coveted seat. "Ha! Take that, Forehead! True love prevails, isn't that right Sasuke-kun?"

Naruto struggled to keep a straight face as the blond girl's triumphant look turned to confusion as she spied Naruto's raised eyebrow. Her head turned around rather comically as she searched for the boy she thought she was sitting next to.

She found him.

He looked just as he always did, perfectly unruffled from the impromptu Kawarimi. Naruto took that as a show of his own skill, rather than Sasuke's innate coolness. His ego need to stay inflated somehow.

The rousing laughter from Kiba and Chouji, combined with Sasuke's twitching mouth, connected the dots in the minds of the two kunoichi. Ino opened her mouth to lambaste Naruto, but was cut off by the entrance of Naruto's two least favorite people.

"Everyone sit down and _shut up_!" Umino Iruka yelled. Ino had no choice but to sit in the vacant seat next to Naruto, while Sakura took a seat next to a quivering Hyuuga Hinata. "This is the graduation exam. Take it seriously," were the words of wisdom from the scarred Academy teacher. His silver haired assistant Touji Mizuki silently passed out the written portion of the exam.

Naruto ignored the scowl that crossed the man's face as he received his test. The animosity between himself and the Academy instructors hadn't waned in the last years of Naruto's Academy stint. Iruka had seemed to warm to him for a time, but Naruto had remained wary of the man. If he had befriended every person who was suddenly "nice" to him, he wouldn't be here now. The somewhat halfhearted attempts at friendship with the scarred man had all but disappeared.

"You have one hour. Begin." The scarred instructor's voice barely penetrated Naruto's thoughts. He opened his test and silently regarded the forty five questions. He sighed. _I hate tests_.

Question 1. The following two hundred fifty six character message needs to be decoded. Determine the cipher necessary and explain its concept.

Naruto's mind filtered through the various ciphers he knew of before deciding on one. It was correct. He had gone with the most basic one he knew. It was one of the three that were taught at the Academy. The fact that he had memorized over ten more on his own time spoke of his dedication to the shinobi lifestyle.

Question 2. The position of shinobi marked A in relation to the position of shinobi marked B is defined by the following equation. Derive the velocity and acceleration functions from the position function as related to time.

_Fucking math!_ He hated math. It was tedious, boring, and nearly useless in the practical sense. When would he ever have to derive equations in the field? Never, that's when. Thankfully, he had a little shortcut, courtesy of the Archive. _N times A times t to the n-1, bitches! Who needs math?_

Question 3. Given the derived equations, calculate the instantaneous velocity and acceleration at time equals 2.7 seconds, of a thrown shuriken from shinobi A to shinobi B.

A simple plug and chug problem. They were easy as long as you had the equations right. _Living on easy street_, he thought with a grin.

Question 4. Given the height of shinobi A and the distance between him and shinobi B, draw the appropriate parabola describing the projectile motion of a thrown shuriken from shinobi A to shinobi B. Calculate the angle of depression and the angle of elevation.

_Shit…_He couldn't do this one. He vaguely remembered Iruka's lectures on projectile motion, but only vaguely. Mizuki must have been the one to finish up that particular lesson. There was a reason he was the assistant.

Question 5. Describe the effect Konoha-Kusa relations had on the outbreak of the Third Secret War. Utilize the space below and summarize in less than two hundred words.

Ah, history. It was boring as hell, but pretty easy. All it was was memorizing dates and names. It had no real importance in the field though. Naruto supposed that it might be important to know if one was in the administrative service. It was important to learn from history. At least that was what the proverb said.

And the questions continued on in that vein. By the end of the hour, Naruto had answered all but eight of the questions on the test. The more practical questions were fairly easy for the blond, while the math and written physics were the opposite. History was somewhere in the middle.

He exchanged nods with a bored looking Sasuke and even more bored looking Shikamaru as the tests were collected. The taijutsu portion of the exam was next, and he was eager to see how much Sasuke would reveal. They were both better than they let show in class. There was simply no need to show off more than they already did.

"What'd you think," he asked the group of Shikamaru, Chouji, and Kiba. Sasuke was slightly ahead of them and unlikely to participate in the conversation. He was Naruto's friend, not everyone else's.

"Not too bad,", "Troublesome,", and "Piece of cake!" were the answers that greeted Naruto. It was all he really expected from his Academy friends. None of them excelled at written tests, and, as such, didn't hold them in much regard. Save for Shikamaru, whose mind was likely on what he would do after the exam, they all were focused on the coming taijutsu portion of the exam.

"All the graduates will fight me in a one on one spar until I or Iruka deem that we have seen enough. You guys know the drill." The silver haired man's boredom was evident in his voice. He attempted to smile to lighten some of the tension hovering over the group, but it came out as a grimace.

"Don't hold back and good luck."

"Don't hold back and good luck," Mizuki stated for what must have been the thirtieth time since the spars had begun. It had begun to wear on Naruto. That and the general level of incompetency he saw clearly in his fellow students. He could only imagine how Iruka and Mizuki felt, having taught the bunch.

His clique had done well, though. That was a good thing at least. Kiba had been downright vicious.

The blond watched dispassionately as Sasuke danced around Mizuki's strikes. His fan club was cheering him from the sidelines. Not for the first time did Naruto envy the prodigy's inherent grace. No matter how much he worked or trained, he knew that Sasuke would always look better than him when fighting hand to hand. Grace couldn't be taught.

_Bastard_.

His eyes didn't change as he watched Sasuke take the upper hand with a well placed thrust kick that had Mizuki stumbling. Iruka could have called the match right there, Mizuki was finished, but he allowed Sasuke to show off his skills.

He snorted when Sasuke planted his knee in the man's gut to end the match. Mizuki looked none too happy with his partner.

Naruto exchanged nods with the genius as he made his way to the ring. Sasuke hadn't shown much more than he ever did in the Academy spars. Naruto would do the same. It wasn't that he had anything to hide, really, but going all out wasn't really necessary. Iruka and Mizuki were total scrubs when it came to taijutsu as far as he knew. It made him wonder why they were teaching.

"Don't hold back and good luck." The platitude couldn't have been less sincere if Naruto had been the Raikage.

"Begin!"

Naruto hopped forward immediately, launching a hard roundhouse kick at Mizuki's head. It was blocked, though Naruto got satisfaction from the man's wince. The added weight around his ankles hadn't helped matters.

Grunting, he shifted his weight while mid-air, bringing his other leg around for a dropping heel. Mizuki dove under the leg and rolled to safety. Naruto landed gracefully and bounced on his toes in anticipation.

Mizuki didn't disappoint. Naruto calmly redirected a palm strike to his throat and ducked inside the man's guard and swung a punch.

It connected solidly, but Mizuki rolled with the blow and Naruto added another bruise to his collection from a kick to his right arm. It was all good though. Mizuki didn't hit nearly as hard as Lee.

Naruto leaped over a wide sweeping kick and coiled his body into a controlled haymaker. _Coil and uncoil. Let the body's weight and flexibility be your power._ The haymaker hit home with a thump and Naruto followed up with a quick sweep of the man's legs. He caught the defensive kick aimed at his chin and used the momentum to turn the catch into a throw.

Mizuki landed heavily in the dust, but regained his bearings quickly. Naruto scowled as he fought the instinct to follow up with a Konoha Senpuu that would have laid the instructor out. It wasn't necessary for this fight, he told himself. The blond wondered why the match hadn't been called yet. Surely he had made a good show so far.

A quick glance to Iruka showed a calculating look in the man's eyes. Naruto smirked a little. He was obviously letting this play out like he had with the previous match. It was probably to see how much Naruto actually knew.

The thought was broken up as he took a punch to the face. He cursed his inattention. Sasuke wouldn't have done that.

Mizuki came in low with a stomach level punch. Naruto worked in some Tai Chi. Transferring body weight, the blond redirected all of Mizuki's momentum away from him. The man was stumbling as inertia took over.

The instructor didn't know what hit him as Naruto capitalized on his opportunity and buried his foot in his back. The boy took more than a little satisfaction in forcing his teacher to eat dirt.

"Match!" Iruka called. The man looked genuinely impressed. It was one thing to knock your classmates around in the spars. It was something else to do it to your instructor. Even so, Mizuki likely wasn't going all out. Naruto did his best to remain humble in the face of overwhelming victory.

It was easier said than done as a smirk threatened to split his face.

"Yamanaka Ino," was called as Naruto exited the ring to polite clapping from the rest of the class. Sasuke was smirking. Kiba was howling. Chouji looked happy. Shikamaru looked bored.

"How 'bout that, Sasu-chan?" he asked with a teasing smirk.

"Hmph. Not bad, dobe, but you took a few too many shots to the head. I'd worry about your intelligence if you weren't already so stupid."

Naruto just laughed. "Whatever, bastard. I beat your time all the same."

The boy in question turned his head. "I still looked better doing it, idiot."

"Bah!"

The rest of the group watched the banter with varying degrees of amusement. It was well known that Naruto was pretty much the only one that Sasuke got along with, and that their verbal spars had no real heat behind them. The barb tossing simply served as amusement for the rest of them.

The group chatted back and forth as Ino finished her match with Mizuki. Naruto smirked as he annoyed the blond girl by cheering for her obnoxiously. She scowled at him venomously, looking at him like he was something to be wiped off her sandal. It was fun to rile her up.

Naruto calmly accepted a bag of chips from Chouji as the group of hopefuls was lead back into the Academy. All that remained was the ninjutsu test. Naruto wasn't worried.

They were immediately told to sit down and prepare for the final third of the exam. Apparently the examiners wanted to get this over with. This was the normal time to break for lunch. Chouji was distraught.

"Troublesome…listen, Chouji. Your name's at the top of the call sheet. Get it done quick and get out of here for some food," Shikamaru suggested to his friend.

Naruto watched with amusement as the large boy's eyes lit with renewed determination. Chouji was too easy to manipulate. The shadow user was particularly adept at it. The two had known each other since birth, nearly, and Shikamaru knew Chouji nearly as well as he knew himself.

Naruto tapped his fingers against the wooden desk as he waited to be called. The ninjutsu test was the most important of the three, and Naruto was eager to get it over with. He was far from nervous. He had mastered each of the three Academy jutsu a few years back. All that he cared about at this point were class placements.

That and getting the fuck out of the Academy. He was sick of the entire establishment.

Satisfaction welled up inside him every time he remembered his time at the Academy. His chunin oppressors had tried their level best to discourage his learning for years.

They had failed.

Everything short of outright sabotage had been tried, including not answering his questions and sending him outside for "disrupting the class". It didn't matter. They kicked him out, he learned on his own. They eventually stopped trying. It wasn't worth the effort apparently, especially as he managed to take the two spot in the rankings over two years ago.

It had been a long, hard, and tedious five years, but he had made it…

"Uzumaki Naruto!" Iruka called.

…and now he was just a few hand seals away from victory.

"Let's get his over with. Transform into a copy of a person of your choosing," the scarred instructor commanded.

Naruto made three hand seals. He was replaced with the neutral visage and form of the Sandaime Hokage. Iruka marched around him for a few moments to inspect the image. His technique was perfect. It had been since he had mastered it all those years ago.

"Very good, Naruto. Replace yourself with that chair to your left, if you will?" The man gestured to the aforementioned object.

Naruto sped through the five hand seals with little effort. A chair stood in his place not a second later. Iruka looked impressed. There hadn't been any smoke or noise to accompany the technique. He had passed it off as a fluke when it had happened with the Henge, but it appeared that Naruto had mastered the Academy jutsu to a higher level than his classmates.

Iruka nodded at Naruto's raised eyebrow. "And the Bunshin no Jutsu. Produce three."

Naruto made five seals and carefully regulated his chakra. Three perfect clones shimmered to life next to him, and Naruto couldn't contain his elation.

"Yatta!"

The clone technique had been his worst by far. That had lasted until he had stumbled upon the mysterious and frustrating concept of chakra control. Two months, three trees, and an endless amount of leaves later, Naruto had mastered the Bunshin.

Iruka couldn't help his smile at the boy's enthusiasm. "Congratulations, Naruto, you are now an official shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato. Take your headband to the right and check by the administration office for your required paperwork. May you burn with the Will of Fire."

/~/

"Well, Naruto, I suppose things do turn out well in the end sometimes. Would you agree?"

The blond nodded. His electric blue eyes sparkled in the lantern lit atmosphere of Ichiraku Ramen. "Sometimes, old man, sometimes…" he trailed off with a smile. He could scarcely remember being so giddy. Surpassing all expectations of you had a way of doing that.

"Well, I'd offer you a free bowl, _but_ I'm afraid that business hasn't quite been as good since I lost my best customer." The old man had a slight smile on his face as he said it. Naruto didn't believe the kind old man for a second.

"Please, old man, you know full well that you've been doing just fine. Ayame-chan said you might be planning an expansion," Naruto said with a smirk.

"Bah! Ayame, what have I told you about letting slip confidential information?" the man called back to the kitchen area. The smile never left his face.

"It's _Naruto_, dad! Besides, you weren't going to keep it secret for long," the voice of Ichiraku Ayame floated upon the ramen scented air from the kitchen. It held a teasing lilt to it.

"Hmph, I sense a conspiracy here."

Naruto laughed along with the small family. It was amazing how two people and a steaming bowl of ramen could make him feel right at home. He couldn't imagine another place he would rather be to celebrate his graduation.

"Ah don't worry about it, old man. I won't tell no one." He slurped his ramen happily. "'Sides, weren't you the one who told me that I needed a more balanced diet."

"If I had known that I'd all but lose my best customer, I would have lived with you being a shrimp."

Naruto snorted. The kind old man and his daughter had been his first friends in the village. It was quite the experience for young Naruto, to know that someone actually cared about his wellbeing outside of the very basics. The old man had all but insisted that he move to a more balanced diet when he entered the Ninja Academy. "Ramen's a great food, best in the world, but a growing boy needs some things that ramen just doesn't have," he had said.

Regardless, Naruto still made a point to stop by and order a bowl or three once a week.

He would have happily lived on ramen alone if it meant keeping the atmosphere and attitude that the Ichiraku's provided. It was too bad that his sense of survival all but demanded his compliance with the old man's order for a more rounded diet. He wouldn't survive long if he was malnourished.

"It's good to know that my well being is at the front of your mind, Teuchi-san. So, what's this expansion you're planning?" Naruto asked. He was genuinely curious.

Ichiraku Teuchi took a seat next to the blond. "Well, you probably don't know, but a few of my friends in the business have fallen on some hard times lately. They had to close down their stalls recently, and I came up with the idea of a joint business venture."

"While it would still be under my name, the three of us would co-own the shop/restaurant, and it would cater to all three meals of the day. A roll shop for breakfast, ramen for lunch, and grilled meats for dinner. It's the full package!" The man was very excited at the idea of finally developing his stall into a full time restaurant.

Naruto was happy for the man. It was tough for the two Ichiraku's to support themselves with a simple ramen stand. A full blown restaurant would likely triple their income.

"Sounds like a good idea to me, old man. When do you start remodeling?"

"In about a month. I've filled out the paperwork for the lease on the building across the way, and we'll begin setting up shop once it's been filed," he proclaimed.

"Well, good luck to you!" Naruto was happy for the two people who he considered family, but he was also sad to lose the homey stand that had served as his hang-out and thinking place for the entirety of his childhood.

The bell to the stall rang. Teuchi was behind the counter before Naruto even noticed he had left his spot. "Welcome to Ichiraku Ramen! How may I help you?"

"One bowl of pork ramen. Medium please," a familiar voice ordered.

"Coming right up, Iruka-san."

Naruto's eyes snapped to meet the brown orbs of his sensei. _Former sensei_, he reminded himself. "Iruka-sensei?" He kept the honorific as it sounded weird to address him casually.

"Naruto, I thought I might find you here." The scarred man addressed his former pupil casually. Naruto caught an undertone of hesitation in the man's voice. The chunin sighed before a small smile blossomed. "I want to congratulate you again on passing the exam. You did much better than many had expected. Myself included."

Naruto thanked the man. "And don't worry, the paperwork will be filled out by end of day tomorrow. But I think that simple congrats wouldn't warrant a visit like this." Naruto was immediately suspicious of the man when he had first entered the stand.

Iruka was silent for a few moments as he slurped his ramen. "You're right, of course. A simple congratulations wouldn't require me to seek you out." He sighed, looking somewhat lost. Naruto wondered what could cause this side of his sensei to show itself. "I wanted to apologize."

_That_ stopped Naruto in his tracks.

So shocked he was, that he didn't even bother to respond to the unexpected proclamation. Iruka picked up where he left off.

"I know that I treated you like crap when you first came to the Academy. Hell, I didn't treat you much better afterwards, but I suppose I saw you as a bit of a younger version of myself." Here the chunin smiled lightly. "I was quite the little troublemaker myself, you know."

Through the haze of confusion the unexpected apology brought on, the last sentence penetrated Naruto's consciousness. "No way!"

He could hardly believe that Iruka, the stickler for the rules, had been anything but a model student when he was younger.

"Believe it," the man stated, imitating one of Naruto's favorite lines. "Anyway, I suppose that led me to being harder on you than the others. It doesn't make up for my behavior, but I hope that this will help make up some ground between us. I like to keep a good relationship with all my students, and I would be remiss if there was bad blood between us."

Naruto was stunned. Of all the things he had expected of his former teacher, an apology certainly wasn't one of them. While he held no love for one of his former oppressors, he didn't hate him either. He had overcome any and all efforts the man had made to hinder him. The Academy was behind him now, and the man seemed sincerely sorry. Maybe it was time to bury the hatchet.

If not, he would just keep an eye on the man.

The blond smiled. "Apology accepted."

The man seemed surprised. "That's it?" he asked.

Naruto shrugged in response. "The Academy's behind me now. Everything that happened there is water under the bridge, I guess."

A genuine smile lit up the scarred man's face. "That's good to hear, Naruto."

"Heh. Anyway, I'll prolly be running missions with you in a few months. No sense in not being able to work with a future teammate." The blond smirked widely.

Iruka guffawed into his bowl of noodles. "Humility isn't one of your strong points is it? What makes you so sure you'll be a chunin in a few months?"

"I thought that was obvious, Iruka-sensei. I'm awesome like that!"

The chunin held back from cuffing the boy over the head. "You'd do well to curb that ego of yours. You might be good for a genin, but you've got a ways to go before you're chunin material."

"Bah! You know I'm awesome, Iruka-sensei. I totally destroyed Mizuki-sensei today!"

Iruka snickered at the boy's enthusiasm. He had indeed witnessed the rout, and had been more than a little impressed with the boy's skill. Still, "Naruto, Mizuki was holding back against all of you. I'm sure that your match would have gone quite differently if he had been really trying."

_If only you knew_, Naruto thought. "Hmph, maybe." The boy shrugged childishly.

"Maybe nothing! Mizuki is a battle tested chunin with experience that you just don't have. As am I," he added as more of an afterthought.

Naruto accepted the point. He already knew that he was far from strong enough to achieve his goal. Some sound advice from a senior officer wasn't unwelcome.

"Yeah, I hear you," Naruto conceded. "I still kicked his ass today."

Iruka snorted. "You made a good showing, as did your sparring partner."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. How did Iruka know that he and Sasuke trained together?

At his questioning look, the man elaborated. "Please, Naruto, did you think that the top two rookies training together wouldn't gather any notice? Give people some credit."

"Huh. Guess we underestimated you guys." Naruto was surprised that the chunin had found out about his training schedule. He and Sasuke, while not being overtly secretive about their training, had kept it fairly close to the vest.

"Take a lesson from it," Iruka commanded. "Always overestimate people. It doesn't matter if they're your enemies or friends." Naruto nodded once, crisply, at the advice.

Any response the boy might have had was cut off by the appearance of another chunin. He looked haggard and more than a little ruffled to Naruto. "Iruka-san, the Hokage has ordered all active duty chunin to report to him immediately!"

"Calm down Komugi!" Iruka ordered. "What happened?"

"The Forbidden Scroll of Seals has been stolen!" the man replied. He looked to be on the verge of hyperventilating.

"Who's the suspect?" Naruto asked from his position.

The man didn't even glance at him as he answered, "Uzumaki Naruto was spotted leaving the Administration Building ten minutes ago."

Naruto and Iruka exchanged a look. "Um…I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I've been here for over half an hour," Naruto said uncertainly. His mind was trying to wrap itself around the prospect of someone stealing something while disguised as _him_ of all people.

The man, Komugi, finally noticed Naruto's presence. He drew a kunai.

"Stand down, Komugi!" Iruka bellowed. "I can personally vouch for Naruto's innocence here. He's been with me for the last twenty minutes."

Naruto barely withheld a sneer of disgust as the chunin obeyed Iruka without a second thought. The man was clearly not thinking straight. Only an idiot would immediately move to attack a person who _couldn't_ be where they were, by the man's own testimony. That kind of split second decision making got people killed on missions. _How did this guy become a chunin anyway?_

"We have to report to the Hokage immediately. He needs to know that Naruto's innocent."

Naruto nodded curtly. "My apartment is on the way. I'll drop in to get some supplies first."

Iruka looked torn for a moment, but accepted the course of action. Someone had tried to frame Naruto for high treason. It was reasonable for the boy to be prepared for any eventuality in this instance.

"Make it fast."

The blond slipped a hidden kunai into his hand as he crept up the stairs to his apartment, Iruka and Kogmugi behind him. He needn't have been so discreet. The person who had snuck into his apartment certainly hadn't been. Naruto cursed sulfurously as he studied the open door.

He pushed the open door inward and walked calmly to his bed. The intruder hadn't made a mess of things, but it was obvious that whoever it was had expected Naruto would be at his apartment. They had likely gone there to kill him before impersonating him.

Thankfully, he hadn't been there. He knew he was strong for a genin, but whoever this was had been a professional. The only true evidence of their visit was the open door, a sloppy mistake likely made in frustration. They had managed to sneak into the Administrative Building and steal a highly guarded artifact. Naruto didn't favor his chances had the person been able to surprise him.

He dropped to a knee beside his bed, and pulled up floorboard that had been securely fastened. He quickly strapped his weapons pouches to his legs and hips. His shiny new hitai-ate was tied securely around his forehead.

"I'm ready."

"Let's go. The Hokage needs to know the full scope of the situation." Iruka was the leader of their makeshift group.

The three sped across the rooftops of Konoha at speeds hard to follow. If Iruka was surprised that Naruto could keep pace so easily, he didn't show it. Komugi did though.

The time passed in a blur for Naruto. He had survived one assassination attempt on his person when he was younger. He had been saved from another one by sheer luck.

He couldn't help but feel shaken at the notion as the group came to a halt on the roof of the Administration Building. The Sandaime was waiting for them.

"Hokage-sama!" Iruka burst out. The aged legend took in their forms. His eyes held a calculating gleam as they surveyed Naruto.

"Save your words, Iruka. I believe that I have some idea of the situation we are in," the Hokage said. His gravelly voice was neutral. Naruto couldn't be sure, but he thought the old man looked relieved to see him where he was. "I take it you can vouch for Naruto's innocence?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama. Naruto and I were eating at Ichiraku Ramen when the crime occurred. It couldn't have been him. The Ichirakus can verify that."

The old man nodded his acceptance. "Very well, though that means that our situation is even direr. I scrambled the available chunin under the notion that they would be tracking a new genin. We now have to assume that a much more capable shinobi has penetrated our defenses."

"Hokage-sama," Naruto interjected. "The infiltrator broke in to my apartment while I was at Ichiraku's. It was likely an attempt to dispose of me before the crime was committed."

The old eyes seemed to stare through him. Naruto fidgeted nervously before the legend. It had been a while since he had spoken with the Sandaime, and the circumstances were far from cheerful.

"That is probable. Was there any hard evidence of the break in?"

"The door was ajar when we entered," Naruto answered with some confusion. Of course there was evidence, why else would they be reporting it?

The information gave the Hokage pause for a few moments. When he spoke, his words were certain, though mostly to himself. "Then we are dealing with a home grown threat. No foreign infiltrator would have been so sloppy in their execution, especially if the attack failed to produce results. Nor would they have cause to target young Naruto specifically…"

Naruto was confused. He knew that many in the village didn't like him, for reasons unknown, but why would anyone have cause to target and frame him specifically? It didn't make sense.

The Hokage made five hand seals. Unbeknownst to the group, the tattoos of all active ANBU members had just begun to burn. It signaled them to report to headquarters immediately.

"Hiro, Iroh," the Hokage addressed two hidden ANBU by name. "Repot to headquarters and brief the captain of Alpha Platoon on the situation. We have a home grown traitor who is currently in possession of the Forbidden Scroll of Seals."

"Yes, Hokage-sama!" The two ANBU sped off, all but invisible to Naruto's eyes.

"Iruka, Komugi, report to the Yamanaka Clan compound. Wake Yamanaka Inoichi and brief him on the situation. The First Fireblade has the authority to recall active shinobi. All chunin currently on duty are to be recalled. ANBU will handle the infiltrator."

"Yes, Hokage-sama!" The chunin made haste toward the sprawling clan compound, Iruka with a glance back at Naruto.

Naruto fidgeted nervously in front of the Sandaime. The old man seemed oblivious to the boy's discomfort. He merely stared at the Hokage monument before him in pensive silence. Naruto said nothing.

After what seemed to be an eternity of waiting, the Sandaime sighed. His whole body seemed to shrink as he let out the breath. "Walk with me, Naruto. I feel that you are safest in my presence tonight, and I would like to have a cup of tea in my office. It does wonders for an old man's nerves."

Naruto was silent as he followed in Sarutobi's wake. The man walked briskly through the corridors of the Administration Building, and Naruto was hard pressed to keep up. Eventually, the Sandaime led him to the large, circular office where he spent the majority of his days. He was surprised to see a steaming pot of tea waiting for them when they arrived.

"Protection of the Hokage involves more than just standing outside my office all day Naruto," Sarutobi addressed the boy as he poured the tea into two waiting mugs. "The job requires both combat prowess and some level of domestication." He smiled wryly at the disbelieving expression on the boy's face. "Oh yes."

Naruto burst out laughing. The image of the Hokage's elite guards making his _tea_ was just too funny an image.

"Indeed, many of the newer recruits are quite surprised when their senior officers send them on errands for me. I believe the senior members consider it some form of hazing." The Hokage kept his smile all the while, sipping his tea absently.

It was difficult for Naruto to reconcile the image of this grandfatherly figure with the information he knew of the man. It had been that way ever since the blond had read of his exploits in the First and Second Shinobi Wars. The idea that this man – currently laughing with him – was known as the Shinobi no Kami was hard to wrap one's mind around.

"It's quite the image, old man." Naruto accidentally referred to the man as he used to and was about to apologize, but he Sandaime just chuckled good naturedly.

"Yes it is, Naruto-kun. Now, I'm sure you're wondering what this is all about." The abrupt change of topic threw Naruto for a second.

"Yes, Hokage-sama, I am." He recognized the change in tone, and reverted to a more formal approach.

"Walk with me then." Once more, Naruto followed the sweeping white robes of the Professor through the Administration Building. They came to a halt outside a locked door with an inscribed pattern on the aged wood. Sarutobi made a few seals before his fingers lit up in a specific pattern.

Naruto watched, entranced by the visible chakra, as the Hokage pushed his fingertips to the pattern on the door. The pattern, now identified as a seal of some sort, lit up in a blinding flash of blue. The doors swung open obediently, revealing numerous shelves almost twice the size of Naruto.

"This, Naruto, is the Hokage's library." Naruto's eyes lit up at the prospect of being in the super secret library that was reserved for the Hokage's only. _Maybe I could swipe something_, he thought excitedly. There was no telling what kind of techniques were in here.

"Now, before you entertain notions of taking some jutsu scrolls, know that the seal on the door acts as more than a lock." The stern look on Sarutobi's face removed any thought of stealing a technique that Naruto had but a moment before.

The old man hadn't said what would happen if Naruto had tried to leave with a scroll, but then he didn't have to.

"Every Hokage since the Shodai has contributed to this vast library, I more than any other." He wasn't called the professor for nothing it seemed. Naruto lost sight of the man as he disappeared behind a vast shelf. "One can find anything from personal ninjutsu, to notes on the wars of the time… to the Forbidden Scroll of Seals," he finished while retrieving a large scroll from the back of the room.

Naruto's eyes widened in disbelief as he saw the supposedly stolen scroll. "But… I thought…how?" he sputtered.

The wry smile returned. "You didn't really think that I left priceless information just lying around? I'm afraid that the scroll the thief has is but a decoy."

"Then why the ANBU?" Naruto asked.

"Attempting to steal this scroll is still high treason, Naruto-kun, regardless of the result. That, and the decoy has some formidable defenses of its own. It would take some skill to bypass them with little detection. I'd rather trust the thief to my ANBU, rather than a group of chunin, half of which are still half asleep." The Hokage's argument was sound and logical.

"Why am I here, Hokage-sama?" he finally blurted out. He had nothing else to say. Aside from the protection issue, which was nicely resolved due to the old man's presence, he had no reason to be staring at the real Forbidden Scroll.

The Hokage sighed heavily. "That, Naruto-kun, is what I'm getting to." He unfurled the large scroll. Naruto's sharp eyes briefly viewed a few of the earlier techniques in the scroll before Sarutobi channeled some chakra into the paper and they disappeared. They were replaced by four complex designs.

The four inscriptions, Naruto thought they might be seals of some sort, had various scribbled notes next to them. To the right of the separate designs was another, more complex one. To Naruto's untrained eyes, it looked like a combination of the first three.

"What are they?" he breathed. He crouched down to better view the scribbles. His brain was attempting to read the notes adjacent to the designs with little success. It looked like they were written in a hurry. He vaguely made out the words "demon", "chakra", and "seal".

"They are seals, Naruto-kun," Sarutobi answered from above his crouched form. "On the right is the Hakke no Fuuin Shiki. The one on the left is the Shiki Fuujin. In the middle is the Shishou they make this one." A finger entered Naruto's vision, pointing at the fourth seal.

"What do they do?" Naruto's interest was piqued. There had to be a reason for the Sandaime to show him this.

"They seal chakra in various ways. Each way is specific. The Hakke no Fuuin Shiki and the Shishou Fuuin lock away and can regulate chakra. Together they make the Eight Trigams Sealing style." He smiled thinly at Naruto's confusion. "While you don't have to know the particulars, though it might aid you in the future to learn them, just know that the Eight Trigrams Style is capable of sealing away truly massive amounts of chakra."

Naruto nodded and turned back to the indecipherable notes.

"The third seal, the Shiki Fuujin, summons the Death God." Naruto's head snapped up in shock. Sarutobi nodded grimly. "Oh yes. You now understand why this scroll is so important. Such information would not be beneficial to Konoha in the hands of another village."

_No shit_.

"In any event, the Shiki Fuujin is a contract with the Shinigami. One can tear the chakra, soul, or both, from any person or anything the user so chooses. At the price of their own soul, of course."

Naruto was in shock. He had no idea that there were techniques that were that powerful. A contract with the _Shinigami _of all things! He made a note to look into Fuinjutsu at some point in his life.

The details, of course, made this meeting even more confusing to the boy.

"That's awesome and all, Hokage-sama, but why are you telling me this?" It had to be important. Information like this didn't get entrusted to genin for no reason. Naruto knew he was pretty good, but this stuff was just ridiculous. He had managed to piece together from the notes that these three things could seal chakra amounts on the level of the nine Biju. Why would he need to know about something like this?

The old man took a seat across from him on the floor. "Tell me, Naruto, have you ever seen this design before?" He pointed to the final seal. Naruto shook his head. He couldn't remember ever seeing something that complex before. "Well then, I suppose it's best to start from the beginning."

The legend sighed heavily, and Naruto experienced a feeling of great foreboding.

"There once appeared a nine tailed demon fox. A wave of its tail could level a mountain, and a flex of its paw could create a tsunami. To fight the demon, the shinobi were assembled, but only one man could stand against the monster's might. That brave man sealed the demon, but at the cost of his life and soul."

Sarutobi's brown eyes bored into Naruto's horrified orbs of blue, his mind jumping to the obvious conclusion before the story was even properly under way. The boy had heard the story enough times to catch the different wording that Sarutobi used. He knew the difference between seal and kill.

"That man was the Yondaime Hokage…"

/~/

"It is important for you all to remember that the life of a shinobi is a hard one, filled with many obstacles. Cherish and hone your skills, but more importantly, cherish each other. Life is short in the field, and you would do well to remember to trust your comrades and friends as much as you do yourselves." Iruka finished his heartfelt speech with a short nod to the room at large.

"Now, before we move to the team assignments, are they any last questions for your old sensei?" he asked good naturedly to the class. Naruto wasn't quite sure how he managed to put up the façade so easily. That said, he hadn't had so much information dumped on him as Naruto had.

"Yes, Li?" Iruka asked a girl with a raised hand.

"Sensei, what happened to Mizuki-sensei? I thought he would be here for the team assignments."

Iruka fidgeted nervously for a moment before composing himself. "Mizuki was, unfortunately, involved in an incident late last night. Rest assured, he is in good health and being taken care of by some of the finest specialists that Konoha has to offer."

Naruto barely withheld a snort. That was the official story that Iruka was supposed to give. Naruto was privy to a few more details than his peers. The so called specialists Mizuki was being treated by weren't all that interested in his health.

"Now, on to the team assignments…"

Naruto tuned out his sensei as he began to announce the various teams. Last night had been both horrifying and fruitful. The knowledge that there was a massive demon sealed within his chakra system wasn't a piece of information that one readily came by.

It did explain quite a bit though.

Apparently, the information was distributed on a need to know basis. That was why Naruto hadn't known beforehand.

Naruto wondered why the whole village needed to know.

The Sandaime had said that the information was out before it could be properly contained. The apology didn't make up for the years of isolation, but at least Naruto now had a reason to cling to. It was surprisingly uplifting, knowing why a village full of people hated him, rather than just speculation.

His opinion of the village as a whole had dropped tremendously. The way they viewed him was like thinking that the bowl for the ramen and the ramen were the same thing. It was ridiculous.

He had wanted to know more, like why he was chosen, but they had been interrupted by the apprehending of the traitor Mizuki. He had been dismissed with a standing invitation to come and talk to the Hokage about the situation whenever he so chose. It was a generous offer. He would save it for later, when he had more questions.

The rest of his night had been spent upon the head of the Yondiame, his idol. It was difficult to think of the man as anything but, but his vision of the hero was clouding with anger. Why had it been him who was chosen? Surely there were others.

It wasn't like he could ask the man though. So Naruto would make do with interrogating the Sandaime once he got his head on straight. And he knew himself well enough to know that it certainly wasn't on straight now.

But right now, he had team assignments. His shinobi career still came first. The knowledge of the Kyuubi had only strengthened his resolve to get stronger. He now had a reason for why the shadowy "Akatsuki" might be after him.

It made no difference though. When they came for him, he would be ready.

"Team seven," Iruka called. "Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, Nara Shikamaru, led by jonin Hatake Kakashi." Even in his subdued sate, Naruto spared a smirk at the twitching Sasuke and groaning Shikamaru. He didn't bother to look toward the squealing Sakura.

"Team eight: Aburame Shino, Hyuuga Hinata, Akimichi Chouji, led by jonin Yuhi Kurenai." Was Naruto seeing things, or did Iruka just blush at the name of the jonin?

"Team nine is still in circulation from last year, so, Team ten: Inuzuka Kiba, Yamanaka Ino, Uzumaki Naruto…" Iruka locked eyes with the blond boy and nodded. Naruto nodded back. "…led by jonin Sarutobi Asuma."

Naruto leaned back as he glanced at his two teammates. Kiba looked happy with the selection. Ino was scowling at a smirking Sakura. They would do. Even if they didn't, they wouldn't slow Naruto down. That was a certainty.

"You are now all shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato. I wish you luck and may you burn with the Will of Fire."

/~/

**Author's Note: First off, Holy Shit that's a lot of reviews! I expected a solid response, that's my ego talking, but that blew me away. Thanks to all who reviewed, it provided some nice incentive to get this chapter out. It's been finished for a while, but I want to have some serious words written before I start posting in earnest. That, unfortunately, means that this will be the last update for a while (most likely).**

**Thanks for the great response and I hope you all enjoy.**

**A new Hurricane Suite chapter should be out soon.**

**Sage  
**


	3. Chapter 2: Team Ten

"New look, Naruto?"

The boy in question just shrugged as he sat on the bench that was to serve as their meeting place. Team Ten was meeting for the first time today. At least in full.

"I guess."

Kiba snorted at the answer. "That bastard Sasuke must be rubbing off on you." He drew a chuckle from the blond. The blond laughed louder when a fist met Kiba's head with a smack.

"Don't talk about Sasuke-kun like that, Kiba!" The boy was left rubbing his head in pain as Akamaru growled at the girl from his position in the boy's lap. It wasn't all that menacing. The fact that any of them could throw the dog with one hand lessened the effect.

"Maa, Ino, it's too early to be so loud," Naruto complained. He still wasn't fully awake yet. The filing of his paperwork had lulled the normally alert boy back into his normal morning state of mind. If the Hokage had to file that kind of crap on a daily basis, he wondered why he had ever wanted the job. It just wasn't worth it.

"Pfft, you sound like that lazy-ass Shikamaru. That's not gonna fly." The girl had her hands on her hips in front of the two boys. She glared almost menacingly. "Now that we're a team, you lazy-asses are gonna have to step it up! Forehead girl's on Sasuke-kun's team, and I'll be damned if I let her win just because of that!"

The girl was on a roll, but Naruto couldn't quite grasp her thought process. It was all one big jumble. "Uh…Ino? How does our laziness translate to you losing…whatever it is you might lose?" he asked, genuinely perplexed. Kiba seemed to share his confusion, as the boy blinked incoherently while rubbing his head,

"Sasuke-kun, idiot! Sakura is in prime position to get his attention by being on his team," Ino said in a voice that clearly indicated that the point was obvious. "That means that I'm gonna have to work twice as hard to get him as before! That means that you two slackers are gonna have to pull your own weight."

Kiba had regained his wits. What little of them he had to begin with. All around nice guy he might be, but he wasn't he sharpest. "So we have to not slack off so that you can beat Sakura?" Naruto was still confused as well. The girl made no sense.

"Exactly! I'm gonna have to be twice as strong, beautiful, and amazing than I am now if I want to get Sasuke. You two can't help with the last two, but I'm not gonna be dragged down in training by you two idiots, so get it together!"

Naruto quickly shushed Kiba. This could work to his advantage and he wouldn't let the Inuzuka spoil it by being his usual loudmouth self. "So you need us to help you get stronger so that you can get Sasuke's attention?"

"Yes!" She seemed so pleased that he had finally gotten he point.

"Well, that shouldn't be a problem. I need to get strong enough to kick that bastard's ass anyways." Naruto smirked lightly at the girl's outraged expression at his term for the Uchiha. "You've got a deal Ino. Unless Kiba's got a problem?"

Eyes shifted to the dog ninja. He snarled. "As if I'd let you get ahead of me, Naruto! By the time we're done, you'll be having to contend with me_ and_ that prick!"

"So we're all in agreement," Naruto said before Ino could castrate Kiba. The two nodded distractedly. Both were glaring daggers at each other.

Naruto barely kept the victorious smirk from his face. Motivation had been his sole concern coming into this team as well. Ino had spent most of her Academy time competing with Sakura in various childish pursuits, not the least of which was Sasuke. Kiba had been a slacker nearly on the level of Shikamaru. He wasn't about to be held back by either of them anyway, but having them properly motivated would be infinitely easier. Who knew Ino's stupid crush could be so useful?

He did take offense to being called a slacker, however. He wasn't quite sure where she got off referring to him as such. Did his place as second in the class mean nothing to the girl? Honestly, he got no respect.

The girl in question plopped herself down in the space between him and Kiba. She smiled sweetly. "So, now that we're all a team, we should get to know each other!" she declared. Naruto wondered at her mood shifts. One moment she was trying to intimidate the two of them into not slacking off, the next she was downright pleasant.

_Girls_, he thought with exasperation. _So troublesome_, he mimicked his Nara friend.

"Well, that sounds like a good idea," a new voice piped up. The smell of cigarettes assaulted their collective nostrils and their eyes watered as smoke was blown in their faces. A big man clad in a standard jonin uniform stood in front of Team Ten. The only item out of the ordinary on the jonin was a white sash that hung at his waist. "I'll go first. I'm Sarutobi Asuma and I'm in charge of Team Ten from now on." Asuma smirked amidst the coughs. "I'm going to be tough on you lot, so get ready!"

"What'd ya' do that for?" Kiba asked indignantly. Naruto winced in sympathy for the boy. His heightened sense of smell would have made the entrance nearly unbearable. "That stings!"

The large man laughed. He was one of the biggest men Naruto had ever seen. Most shinobi were more compact. "Didn't I just say that I was going to be tough? Don't start crying on me already, I might just fail you here."

Naruto's attention was grabbed. "Fail? What'd you mean?"

Asuma just laughed some more. "Ah that's right, they don't tell you guys that sort of stuff. We'll get to that later though. Now, introductions." He blew smoke in their faces again, but Naruto shielded himself with a hand. "How 'bout you first." He pointed to Ino.

She coughed. "My name's Yamanaka Ino," she squeaked out. She coughed again.

"That's it?" Sarutobi questioned. "What about likes, dislikes, dreams for the future? We're teammates now, you have to share that kind of information." Naruto noted that the man hadn't bothered to reveal his likes, dislikes, and dreams for the future. His interest was piqued. The man was shrewder than he let on.

Ino huffed. "I like origami, tending flowers, and Sasuke-kun, of course. I hate loud idiots and lazy idiots." The girl sent a pointed look at Kiba. "I also hate Forehea – I mean Sakura. My dreams for the future are to be a strong ninja like my dad, and to land Sasuke-kun!"

Naruto barely withheld a snort. Sasuke would be thrilled to know that his fangirls treated him like an object. It'd make his day.

"Well, that's nice. How about you, with the dog?" Asuma did his best to look interested. Naruto sympathized with him.

KIba straightened himself. "The name's Inuzuka Kiba! I like Akamaru here, my family, hot home cooked meals, and hotter girls." Asuma nodded in appreciation of the last point while Ino scowled. "I dislike bad smells, people I can't beat up, and arrogant assholes." Ino's scowl morphed into a glare at him for his indirect reference to Sasuke. Naruto wondered what it said about the girl that she automatically connected a reference to assholes to Sasuke. Even then, she was still obsessed with him. "My dreams for the future are to lead my clan and prove that the Inuzuka are just as good as everyone else."

Asuma nodded in acceptance of the introduction. "And the last…"

Naruto straightened. "My name's Uzumaki Naruto. I like training, ramen, and my old sensei. I dislike idiots and laziness. My dream, my goal, is to someday be able to contend with S-rank shinobi," he finished with his head held high. Blue eyes bore into brown as he dared his sensei to mock his proclamation.

Asuma's eyes were appraising as he observed Naruto. "A lofty goal, but something to strive for, I suppose." His eyes shifted to take in the entire team. He smiled once more, blowing smoke into the faces of the three genin again. The smile widened as they all covered their faces, having anticipated the move. They were learning. "Well then, this is the time when most sensei give a test of some sort, in order to judge whether their genin are ready to actually _be_ genin."

Kiba looked confused, Ino scared, and Naruto determined. "That's right," Asuma continued. "You're not officially genin until you pass your sensei's test."

"But we passed the Academy test!" Ino exclaimed. Her indignation was matched by her teammates.

Their sensei nodded. "You did, but did you really think that all your classmates became genin? Even the ones with little to no practical skills?" The bearded jonin shook his head. "Only two thirds of the graduates actually make genin, in most cases. Sometimes there is an exceptional class where more pass, but not often."

"The failed genin return to the reserve Academy, where they are put through an accelerated program that churns out capable, if not exceptional ninja." Asuma leaned against a nearby tree as he explained his position. "In any event, that's where the sensei's test comes in."

The jonin smirked at the expressions on his students' faces. They all looked horrified of failing. "I'm a bit different from most jonin in this case. I don't believe that a test, no matter how complex and tested, can really determine how effective a group of genin can be. You guys have too much depth for something so simple to work," he said. "So, as of now, you're all on probation."

Naruto raised both eyebrows in question. What the hell did probation mean?

"That means that you'll function as a standard three man cell for the time period of one month. We'll train together, take missions, and do everything else expected of a three man cell," the smoker elaborated. "At the end of one month, I'll decide whether you all pass or fail. I suggest you learn to work together, it's an all or nothing affair. If one of you fails, everyone does."

"But that's not fair!" Naruto burst out. He was already entertaining the nightmare of being held back. Motivation or not, humility or not, Naruto knew that both Kiba and Ino weren't on his level. He had goals to achieve. He had to survive! Being held back _couldn't_ happen!

Asuma adopted a serious expression. "Life isn't fair, Uzumaki. You ought to learn that." Naruto caught the deeper meaning behind the words. He berated himself mentally. When had his life ever been fair? That truth had made itself even more known a few nights ago. It made no sense that it would start being so now.

"You're all dismissed for the day," Asuma continued. "I understand that some of you have yet to properly file your paperwork." Kiba and Ino winced sheepishly while Naruto straightened in satisfaction. "I suggest you go do that. Be at training ground ten at eight o'clock sharp tomorrow morning."

The three genin waited in anticipation for some other proclamation, but it never came. Instead, Asuma simply walked off, cigarette in mouth.

The new genin exchanged looks. An unspoken message was passed. They _weren't_ going to fail, no matter what. Naruto nodded to the other two, and walked off toward his apartment. He would grab a quick lunch and go out to train. Maybe he would find Gai and Lee if they weren't on a mission. Surely Gai would have some information to give on Sarutobi Asuma.

He was halfway to his apartment when a hand on his shoulder stopped him cold. He nearly had a heart attack. He hadn't heard or sensed anyone come up behind him.

Asuma chuckled lightly at his student's reaction to his presence. "Calm down, Naruto. It's only me."

"You in the habit of creeping up on people?" Naruto asked snidely. Asuma only laughed. He seemed to do that a lot.

"Sometimes," he answered. He took a drag on his cigarette. "Walk with me for a minute." Naruto obliged.

A few moments passed before the man spoke again, "You're quite the enigma." Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Happy as can be most of the time, but you get serious when it counts. You were the dead last in you class for nearly a year during your first year at the Academy, but then something changed. You train with Uchiha Sasuke on a regular basis?"

Naruto was thrown by the sudden question. The man seemed to be in the habit of keeping him off balance. "Yes," he answered. He was unaware just how much that told the jonin about him. Training with the number one rookie spoke volumes about his skill that no grades could properly convey. That was doubly so, considering Sasuke's own skill.

Asuma nodded. "Gai mentioned as much." Naruto's eyes widened. "He also said that you train with him and his student Lee on a regular basis." Naruto nodded at the unspoken question. "That's interesting."

Naruto was confused. He didn't like the feeling. "Why are you asking me this?"

The smoker shrugged. "I make it a point to get to know who I'm going to be training."

"Then why aren't you talking to Ino and Kiba too?" Why hadn't he brought this up during the meeting?

"Who says I'm not?"

_What?_ Naruto thought. It showed on his face, if Asuma's chuckle was any indication. "You're an interesting person, Naruto. I'm just trying to get a read on you."

Naruto bobbed his head. It made sense. He supposed that he should be flattered that his sensei would take such an interest in him. It was certainly more than his Academy instructors had done.

"Back on topic, where exactly are you hiding the weights that I know you're wearing. Being a student of Gai, even part time, means that you probably wear them." The man gestured to Naruto's outfit in question. There weren't many places where he could hide the weights.

The boy was wearing a forest green shirt and black shorts that fell to the knee. He had his customary black shinobi sandals, and his legs were taped to the very top of his claves. A black band with a snap button held them in place.

Naruto gestured to the bandages on his legs. "Resistance seals. They were a graduation present from Gai-sensei."

Asuma squinted. He could barely make out the seals inscribed on the bandages, and he was looking for them. He nodded. "A good idea, weights can be cumbersome for someone your age." The seals would allow for Naruto to reap the optimum benefits of weight training by having the seals absorb a fixed amount of chakra from every movement. The chakra would then be reflected back on his bones and muscles, allowing for Naruto's strength to grow as the chakra pushed on the muscles. It was less damaging than the weights that he had been using before, which had been more suited to taijustu specialists. There was the added benefit of being less cumbersome as well.

"A chakra flex in the legs disengages them," Naruto told his new sensei. He noticed that they had reached a popular barbeque restaurant. Asuma led him inside. Naruto hoped the man was paying.

"A good design," the jonin said simply, as the two were led to a table. Naruto noted that no one so much as looked at him funny when he was in the presence of the jonin. It was nice. He wondered if it was because of the man's rank or surname. "You can channel chakra to your legs?" he asked.

Naruto nodded. "I had to learn the tree climbing exercise in order to do some less chakra heavy techniques." It had been a must for him to learn the Bunshin. His chakra reserves were far too big for the technique under normal circumstances.

Asuma looked surprised. "Where did you come by the exercise? It's not common knowledge in Academy students."

"Archive," Naruto said simply as a plate of assorted meats was placed in front of them. They hadn't even ordered. His eyes found Asuma's, and he saw that he was smiling at the waitress. He must have been a regular.

"Ah, that explains it." Asuma had turned back to his genin. "Not enough Academy students use that resource. Good on you." He placed the pieces of meat on the grill in front of them. "That puts you ahead of your teammates, then. I'll have to start with chakra control then." He sighed. "What a drag."

Naruto snickered. Asuma raised an eyebrow at the youth. They each ate their meat. It was quite tasty when not burned. Naruto ended up mooching his sensei's meat once his meager grilling skills were exposed.

"So," Naruto broke the companionable silence. "Why exactly are we on probation? Were you just too lazy to come up with a test?" He was starting to see how his sensei operated. The man was laid back enough that Naruto wouldn't put it past him to abandon the notion of a test simply out of laziness.

The bearded man chuckled at his student's cheek. They would get along fine. "Partly. I don't really think that three genin who haven't worked together in the past can be accurately judged by some contrived exam. Most of the tests revolve around teamwork, and getting three genin to work together right off the bat isn't easy. Seeing how you three work together over the span of a month gives me a much more accurate view of you."

Naruto nodded. "But why? A group of three can learn to work together in a month. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of the test, if you just pass them at the end?" The system seemed to be designed to allow the team to pass.

"Maybe, but you'd be surprised how hard it is to get along with your teammates on a day to day basis. I've had a couple of teams that can't handle it. At the end, you're either a team, or you have a few more skills to go to the reserve program with." It was a good system.

Naruto nodded thoughtfully. "How'd you get permission, though? A group of three going to the reserves a month late can't be good for organization."

"Being the son of the Hokage has some perks," Asuma said simply. Naruto wasn't sure, but he looked less than pleased with the notion that his name got him special treatment, despite his willingness ot exploit it. Naruto knew the feeling.

"Anyway, be ready for tomorrow, Naruto." Asuma dropped the appropriate money on the table before walking out. He left a contemplative Naruto in his wake.

/~/

Evenings in Konoha were Naruto's favorite time by far. Many wondered why Fire Country had its name, given its forested landscape. Those who did only had to spend a day in the sun to have their wonders assuaged.

While Naruto had never been out of the country, he highly doubted that he'd ever find a place quite like Konoha. When the sun began to disappear behind the eastward facing Hokages, Konoha came to life.

From the lights of the shops to the lantern lit streets, Konoha in the evening was a beautiful sight to behold. Bathed in moonlight under a clear, starlit sky, Konoha exuded an orange glow from nearly every corner. It was a sight to behold from on high, and it was this that originally led Naruto to his favorite haunt. The top of the Yondaime's head.

Much to the blonde's chagrin, at the moment, he wasn't at his favorite hangout spot. He was dragging himself through the streets on the way to one of his least favorite activities.

Shopping.

In all honesty, he'd rather stab himself in the eye rather than deal with the great village's shopkeepers. They had been the bane of his existence until he had reached the Academy. They had then been replaced with the chunin instructors, but they had remained quite the vexing problem.

A brave few had refused him service in his youth, denying him the essentials needed to survive, but that had stopped once he had complained to the Hokage about mean storekeepers. He had had noticeably less trouble after that.

Regardless, they had done their level best to make his life difficult soon after. While none had outright refused him – though some small shops still did – they had managed to discourage Naruto's patronage. Higher prices, dirty looks, poor treatment and more had greeted the whiskered blond whenever he walked into a shop, and slowly, Naruto had learned to adapt.

Being a scavenger hadn't been fun, but it had been necessary. Stealing had become a regular part of the boy's day for a time.

He often wondered at the villager's stupidity. They were perfectly willing to believe him a great demon hell bent on destroying them all when it suited them, but when it didn't, he was just an idiotic nuisance. It was the only way Naruto could explain how he had managed to get away with stealing as much as he had in his youth, as he had been far from the competent genin he now was.

It was like the villager's opinions shifted whenever they felt like it, and they adapted to their situation. As annoying as it was, it had made life easier for Naruto, at least until he slipped up one day.

Two weeks and one official reprimand later, Naruto never let himself get caught stealing again. It was no easy task, given that all the shopkeepers stepped up their security and vigilance after that one time, but he had managed.

It had even helped him with his skills in stealth. Stealing had been tough, and the results showed. It was no easy feat leading trained shinobi on village wide chases, and Naruto had delighted in it for a few short months before the Uchiha massacre had wizened him up to the realities of life.

Even so, he had managed to pull a few pranks on more than a few merchants after the fact. Watching the wealthy bastards wonder who stole their precious money and goods had been vindication of the highest level.

It was even better when their attention eventually fell on him, and he could see how they so obviously wished that they could pin it on him. He had left no evidence of the fat, however. He'd be damned if he let the pricks ever get wind of him more than once.

His waltz down memory lane halted as his body turned into a ninja supply shop. It was one that he frequented often, for he always needed supplies, and the owners didn't seem to mind him so much. They had immigrated after the Kyuubi attack and, while there was some stigma, they didn't have the loss of loved ones to pin on the beast in his gut.

It helped that their merchandise was well made and priced pretty reasonably.

Naruto gave a brief nod to the girl manning the counter as he picked up a basket.

Wandering to the weapons section, Naruto perused the standard grade kunai and shuriken before picking out two full sets for himself. While not cheap, it was necessary, and the blond had some money now that he was running constant D-ranks with Team Ten.

He glanced over the senbon needles and decided that he wouldn't splurge too much. While he had some serious pocket money, he still needed to use much of it for other essentials. He didn't really need senbon anyway.

His feet carried him to the clothing section, where Naruto's real objective laid. He had ripped another one of his trademark green shirts, and he was in short supply. He rounded a clothing rack moving toward the t-shirts when walked smack into his teammate.

"Kami, Naruto, watch where you're going," Ino groused as she dusted herself off.

Naruto huffed angrily. "I _was_ watching! You were the one who couldn't take her eyes off the floor. Pay attention to where you look in small spaces," he grumbled heatedly.

The blond girl just shook her head tiredly and waved him off. "Yeah whatever, Naruto." She moved to walk away.

Naruto's interest was piqued, warning bells sounding loud and clear in his mind. Ino would never let him off the hook like that. She always had to be right about small things like that, and there was no way that she would let it go so easily.

"You alright," he called to her back. He was concerned.

Ino turned back to him and offered a small smile. Naruto realized how haggard the girl looked for the first time. That made no sense though, Asuma hadn't held training today.

"Yeah, Naruto, I'm alright. Just tired."

"You don't look alright," Naruto pointed out bluntly. Subtlety had never been his strong suit when it came to people.

An angry look flashed through Ino's eyes for but a moment before it was gone. It was replaced by the same tired look she had before.

"Asuma and I talked about some stuff today. Stuff about being a good kunoichi and all that, and he gave me a bunch of stuff to think about." Naruto didn't question why the girl would even bother telling him this.

"Anything I can help with?" he asked immediately. "You know, we're teammates and all and…friends, I guess, so if you need anything…" he trailed off in his explanation, blushing slightly at the look his teammate was giving him. She looked to be sizing him up.

A small smile made its way to her face. "I'm good, Naruto, but thanks anyway."

"You're sure?"

She nodded with a small snort. "I'm sure."

Naruto scratched the back of his head, at a loss for words. Reassured and concern spent, the moment had just gotten awkward. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow then?" They had training in the morning.

"Yeah," Ino said with a little giggle at his discomfort. He blushed lightly. "See you tomorrow."

They went their separate ways, each with confused thoughts of the other blond.

/~/

The Sandaime silently regarded his son. With his pipe in mouth and serious expression, he gave the appearance of a truly stern, wise leader. It was a well cultivated and practiced image.

His son, likewise, had his game face on, though it differed from his father's. Posture slouched slightly, Asuma gave the appearance of the perfectly laid back and lazy jonin. The image was completed by the cigarette perched at an angle in his mouth. It too, was a cultivated image. Few people knew how intelligent and observant the chain smoker was. He intended to keep it that way.

"You've had your month, what's your answer?" The Sandaime's voice was gravelly and stern. Asuma knew that this would be all business. Just like it always was. He wasn't sure if he was truly sad about that.

"Team Ten has passed. They've showed the proper work ethic, teamwork, and cohesiveness that should be present in a genin team." Asuma was straight to the point and nearly monotonous. He exhaled a cloud of smoke, letting the aroma's from the two tobaccos battle it out. The pipe tobacco was winning.

"And what of the three individually?"

"They are remarkably similar in many ways. All three are loud, somewhat brash, and do nothing to hide their emotions from each other. Surprisingly enough, it translates to some pretty good teamwork. It almost makes the bickering bearable," Asuma said dryly.

His father winced in sympathy for him. He was familiar with the personalities of all three.

"As it is, Naruto is the most mature of the three, though you wouldn't know it initially. It's like the boy can flip a switch in his brain sometimes. It's taken some time, but both Kiba and Ino defer to him when they're making executive decisions on the missions."

The elder Sarutobi nodded, his face pensive. "Naruto has a natural charisma that can draw people to him. It hasn't had much opportunity to assert itself in the village, but there are examples. Uchiha Sasuke is the most visible. How goes the boy's progress?"

Asuma took a seat. It was neither offered nor asked for. His father didn't react visibly. "As well as to be expected. I introduced the water walking exercise just last week, and he's still struggling with it. His chakra reserves work against him at this point, though they'll be a boon later."

The Sandaime sat back in his chair and digested the information. It wasn't much, but it provided some insight as to the abilities of the boy he had once called a surrogate grandson. Naruto had distanced himself from the Hokage a few months into his first year in the Academy, incidentally right around the time of the Uchiha Massacre.

He had heard from Maito Gai that he had taken the boy on as a part time student, and Sarutobi had been concerned initially. Gai was well known for his harsh training techniques, and the idea of Naruto training under the man had made Sarutobi wary. He had allowed it because the boy wasn't getting any real help from his Academy instructors, and, short of Sarutobi outright ordering them, he wouldn't likely ever. The boy's time under Gai, sporadic that it was, had yielded results far greater than Sarutobi had initially dared to hope. The astounding progress was proof of the boy's innate talent and potential.

The old man would be deluding himself if he wasn't happy for Naruto quite literally sticking it to his detractors in the Academy. Young Iruka had been quite shocked when Naruto had suddenly jumped from dead last to middle of the pack in a single month. The trend had continued until he was the number two in the class.

He quickly forced his wandering mind back to his son. The man was sitting impatiently in his chair. The elderly man inwardly sighed at the deterioration of their relationship. It was too bad that Asuma had inherited his stubbornness. "You look like you want to say something."

The chain smoker seemed to mull something over. "Gai did the boy a service by helping him when he did. Taijutsu is something that takes years to learn well, and is best learned at a young age. Because of Gai's tutelage, Naruto won't really have to worry about his taijutsu for years. Never, if he keeps practicing with the man."

"Interesting," the Sandaime interrupted. "But I recall telling you much the same when you first took Team Ten." The old man winced at his harsh tone, he couldn't help it sometimes.

Asuma barely reigned in his glare. "In any event, with his taijutsu as solid as it is, he has time to fully turn his attention to ninjutsu," he continued as if his father hadn't interrupted. "I want permission to teach him the basics of elemental manipulation."

The Hokage was stunned, though he didn't show it. Elemental manipulation was a skill practiced and honed by chunin. Most genin had neither the chakra reserves nor the proper basics to begin learning the art. The idea of teaching it to a genin was rare, if not unheard of. It had happened with exceptional genin in the past.

"Is he truly that exceptional?"

Asuma nodded without hesitation. "He is. His taijutsu is good enough to be neglected right now, and his chakra reserves are large enough that it makes sense for him to begin." He was being somewhat modest for his student. The boy's reserves were the size of his own. "Genjutsu will never be his forte, though he shows serious drive in learning how to become immune to them."

"And what of his other teammates? Will they suffer from the extra attention to young Naruto?" The Hokage was cracking. Asuma knew he had his father right where he wanted him.

He barely withheld a smirk of victory as he put the final nail in the coffin. "Not at all. I intend to leave Naruto to study the art mostly on his own time."

The pipe nearly fell out of Hiruzen's mouth. He had never heard such a thing before. "And you expect him to complete it to a reasonable degree? To do so would take nearly prodigious skill with ninjutsu…"

"From what I've been able to glean from the boy, he's already muscled his way through two or three Doton techniques. It's an element that I suspect isn't even his primary one." The satisfaction was evident in his voice.

"Indeed?" The Sandime was being forced to reevaluate much of what he thought he knew about the blond boy. He knew that the boy was skilled, and would likely become even more so as time passes, but to have this kind of talent was beyond the scope of Sarutobi's conceptions.

For a newly minted genin to be able to use elemental ninjutsu, no matter how small, was incredible. It was the stuff of prodigies. Uchiha Sasuke had demonstrated the ability in his test with Hatake Kakashi, but that had almost been expected of the boy. The Uchiha were known for their battle prowess, and Sasuke was a genius even among them. For Naruto to show comparable skill, it was nearly mind boggling.

He couldn't help but be impressed, both by the facts and the reality that the boy had kept it hidden form so many people who, unbeknownst to Naruto, had been watching him quite closely.

"What, exactly, would your plan for Naruto entail?"

Asuma just smiled.

/~/

"You know, it honestly wasn't what I was expecting."

Sasuke pulled out his trademark "Hn," as a response.

"I mean, I expected that the whole aspects of team training could be boring, but D-ranked missions? They're a fucking embarrassment!" Naruto said heatedly.

"Hn." Sasuke casually slurped some more of his ramen.

"Just last week, we're babysitting for this woman, apparently had urgent business in Otafuku Gai – prolly a gambling vacation to get away from her kids – and Kiba starts flipping out on the kids because they were trying to braid Akamaru's hair!" Naruto threw his hands up in exasperation. "He ends up chasing the seven year old – a seven year old girl – around the house for five minutes. Somehow, someway, he spilled new paint all over one of the rooms!"

Sasuke actually snickered at the blonde's predicament. _He dares!_ Naruto thought violently. He continued in the same vein, doing his best to ignore his unsympathetic friend.

"The person tending the house comes back, he's pissed, and we have to repaint the whole room the same day! We didn't even get paid…" Naruto trailed off with a grumble.

"That sounds like the mutt," Ssauke said simply. "Any other worthy moments or note?"

Naruto shook his head as he finished his second bowl of ramen. "Not really. It's been pretty dull otherwise." He perked up quickly. "Though what Ino did to Kiba after that mission was downright vicious."

Sasuke chuckled. "Was that when she had him go around town in nothing but a pink dress for a day?"

Naruto nodded bemusedly. "Yeah. You heard about that?"

"The pink harpy was gushing about it for the two hours we sat waiting for Kakashi. Apparently the yellow harpy told her."

Naruto chuckled in appreciation of their old nicknames for Sasuke's biggest fangirls. He took a little offence for Ino, though. Outside the presence of Sasuke and Sakura, she wasn't that bad. He would admit that he was warming to the girl. "I heard that Hatake's always late. I guess there's truth to that."

Sasuke nodded with a scowl. "Two to three hours. Every. Day."

Naruto chortled. "Sounds pretty bad. Asuma-sensei's never late." He didn't recoil at the heated glare that Sasuke sent his way. Served the bastard right for mocking him earlier.

"You don't know the half of it," Sasuke grumbled. Naruto nearly cracked up at the thought of Sasuke actually _grumbling_. "Just when I was getting the timing right so I could show up a few minutes before he did, he actually shows up on time! I got an official reprimand for being late to a meeting, and I _know_ he did it on purpose."

Naruto couldn't help laughing at his friend's predicament. It was just too funny. "Sucks, man. What about the rest of the bunch? They any good?"

"Not a chance, idiot. Nara's lazier than Kakashi on his best day, and I can count the number of times that Sakura's done something useful on one hand." Yep, Sasuke was pissed. "Between Nara's laziness, Kakashi's lateness, and Sakura's idiocy, we almost never train. You think you've got it bad, dobe? We do nothing _but _D-ranked missions! I've taken to getting back into my old routine in the mornings, considering I've got nothing else to do."

Damn, that sucked. Sasuke was somewhat famous for waking up at the crack of dawn to begin training. Naruto followed the boy's example, to a limited extent. "Ouch. I take it you haven't learned much new, eh teme?"

Sasuke shrugged, his anger somewhat spent. "Not much, but Kakashi tossed me a new Katon jutsu last week. Probably compensation for everything. The only team training we do is taijutsu. I'm lucky if I get to spar with Kakashi."

Naruto nodded to himself. He was likely learning more than he thought. He was likely getting some battle experience from sparring with a jonin like Kakashi. That and those eyes of his taught on their own.

The blond couldn't say that he learned all that much either. The gap in skill between him and his teammates was a virtual chasm, now that he could see it properly. As such, Asuma was stuck helping Ino and Kiba with their various deficiencies. Naruto was more than happy to note that they were becoming fewer and fewer.

Regardless, Asuma had helped him with his chakra control in the last week, and had started him on some training with dual kunai. Naruto hoped that this would lead into the man teaching him how to fight with those trench knives of his.

Naruto ended his musings as he heard Sasuke renew his grumbling. He shook his head; Team seven must really be something special if Sasuke was this emotional about it.

"At least Nara as a brain hidden somewhere in that skull of his. I'm starting to think that Sakura has nothing but air between her ears. Book smart my ass," Sasuke griped. He took a long sip of his tea.

Naruto nodded absently. "Ino said that Sakura has some good chakra control. Maybe you could use that angle to get Kakashi to give some serious training?"

Sasuke shook his head. "Already tried. All it accomplished was Kakashi having us do the tree climbing exercise for a week. He's still having Haruno do it on a regular basis. She's got fuck all chakra compared to everyone else, apparently."

_Whoa_! Sasuke almost never cursed. It was beneath someone of such "noble Uchiha blood", in the boy's mind. "Damn." Naruto thought fast. Sasuke was liable to kill the pink haired girl at this rate. "Good chakra control is required of genjutsu specialist or medic-nin, right? Maybe an offhand mention…?"

Sasuke just sneered. "She doesn't have the temperament or disposition for either. She's either pestering me or trying to kill Shikamaru for "interfering" in our "conversations". What she is, is useless!"

_Holy shit_. _No wonder he was so damn vicious in our spar!_ "Sounds like she needs a good beating to set her straight."

The Uchiha scoffed. "Don't I know it, but Kakashi doesn't seem to want to do anything about it! Aside from chakra control, he's been drilling us on basics. I'm _this_ close to going to the Hokage about it." He held his fingers about an inch apart.

"Yeah, Asuma-sensei's been doing basics too." Naruto carefully steered the conversation away from Sasuke's team seven woes. "I don't know how Kiba managed to pass the Academy without being able to hold a kunai right, but at least Ino has a solid grounding. I'm hoping Asuma-sensei starts moving us onto some actual ninjutsu, rather than just basics and strategy." The man had been pestering him to pick up shogi. Naruto still hadn't managed to plow through the rulebook. Damn, if that game wasn't complex.

"Hn, I forgot you had the yellow harpy on your team." He smirked slightly, his own woes forgotten at the moment.

Naruto shook his head. "She's not that bad, actually. She's actually pretty focused during training." He was happy to say that he had a newly budding friendship with his fellow blond. She was surprisingly bearable around him these days. It was a pleasant change up from their Academy days.

"Whatever you say, dobe. Are you sure you aren't being a bit, uh, _soft_ with her?" He smirked devilishly. "After all, you know what they say: there's nothing _so bad_, as something _not so bad_."

Naruto scowled, though there was a distinct redness to his cheeks. "Shut it, teme! She's pretty decent, and I thought we agreed never to mention that again!" Sasuke was the only one who knew that Naruto had nursed quite the silent affection for the blond Yamanaka during their first years in the Academy. It had lasted until she had started chasing after Sasuke like he was a piece of meat.

"I don't remember ever agreeing to anything, idiot."

Naruto raised a challenging eyebrow. "Oh? What about that whole agreement about me never mentioning anything to Kiba about you and his si-" His smirk was triumphant as Sasuke slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Not. A. Word." Sasuke growled.

"Of course."

"Hey chumps, I heard my name!" Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Naruto smirked. Kiba had impeccable timing.

"Nothing to be bothered with, mutt." Sasuke recovered in the blink of an eye. "Naruto here was going over your numerous deficiencies in training."

Kiba just hmph'd. "Bite me Uchiha, we both know that I can take either of you any day."

"You'd like to think that, wouldn't you, mutt?"

Kiba growled. "Screw you, asshole! We both know I'm bigger _and_ stronger than you."

Sasuke's eyes gleamed. "Maybe so, but everyone knows that you're lacking size where it counts." Naruto couldn't contain his laughter at Kiba's face as the insult sunk in. The raven haired youth was being downright vicious today.

"Fuck you, Uchiha! I'll beat your ass!" Akamaru barked along with his partner.

"Settle down, children," Naruto managed around his laughter. He mentally patted himself on the back for diffusing the situation in such a cool way. "We're all friends here."

"Yeah, yeah, screw both of you," Kiba grumbled.

"Hn." Sasuke was back to his aloof self, it seemed.

Naruto shrugged. "What're you doin' around here, Kiba? Didn't think you ate ramen."

"I don't. My mom says that stuff'll stunt my growth. I'm not exactly lacking size," he sent a pointed glare at the smirking Sasuke, "but you can never be too careful. I was looking for you actually. We've got training in thirty." Naruto assumed that he didn't want to show up to the training ground with only Ino there to meet him. Their arguments were becoming somewhat legendary.

He checked the time. "Shit, gotta go Sasuke."

"Whatever, dobe. Just pay for your share."

Naruto dropped the appropriate money on the counter top. "Later, teme. See ya' old man!"

"Come back soon," old man Teuchi called from the back. Naruto would make a point to talk to him and his daughter the next time he came by the stand. He always enjoyed the simple conversations he had with his first friends.

Naruto and Kiba ambled through the early afternoon traffic in an amiable silence. Naruto took his time seeing the sights and basking in the non-attention he got. The forehead protector was a nice deterrent for the villager's glares. Kiba spent his time playing with Akamaru and leering at the passing village girls and women.

"Honestly, Kiba, you're gonna get slapped if you keep that up." Damn hormonal genin. Naruto could appreciate a fine specimen, but Kiba was just ridiculous.

"Please, Naruto, a woman appreciates guys checking her out. It's flattering."

"It's not flattering when your drool gets on their shoes. Kami only knows how you turned out how you did with _your_ mother and sister," Naruto argued.

"Bah, you wouldn't know the first thing to do with a woman, Naruto."

"That may be true, but if I watch you long enough, I'll end up knowing what _not _to do." Naruto smirked. "That's got to count for something."

Kiba glared. There was no real heat behind it, though. "I don't know why you doubt me? You and Ino both. You two deserve each other for all the crap you give me."

Naruto chuckled; he might make a pass if he thought he had a shot with the other blond. "Kiba, we're twelve. _No one_ our age is an expert on women. Least of all you."

"I beg to differ, Naruto. Chicks are drawn to me like a moth to flame."

"More like fleas to a dog, Kiba." Naruto laughed outright at Kiba's outraged expression. "How do you reckon they're so…attracted to you?"

Kiba puffed up. "I've got two words for you: animal magnetism."

Naruto snorted. "And I've got two words for _you_: body odor. It's probably why all these nice people are giving us such a wide berth." Naruto gestured to the gap they were creating in the midday crowds. The reality was that the gap was because most people were giving Naruto a wide berth, but if a little misdirection got Kiba to shower more, who cared?

"Fuck you, Naruto." The boy in question just laughed his way to the training ground.

When they arrived at training ground ten, the two boys were surprised to see their remaining squad mates already there. Ino had her hands locked in the rat seal. Asuma looked pensive, though his gaze flickered around the clearing. His eyes didn't even register the arrival of Naruto and Kiba.

Abruptly, Ino dropped the seal and Asuma reverted to normal. "Well?" the girl asked expectantly.

Asuma nodded to the girl. "Impressive. Just make sure to be throwing your kunai and shuriken in a way for the clones to mimic you." Ino nearly squealed in delight.

"Are we late, Asuma-sensei?" Kiba asked. Asuma turned to regard his other two students. The jonin checked the time.

"Nope, you're right on time. I was just helping Ino-chan out with a few techniques." Naruto was interested.

"Anything for the rest of us?" he asked. The bearded man shook his head.

"Nothing you'd be interested in Naruto. Genjutsu," he elaborated at the look Naruto sent him. The blond boy scowled. It wasn't his fault he had no real aptitude for the illusion art.

"In any event," Asuma began anew, lighting a cigarette up, "we have a new play for the playbook." The playbook was the group of team maneuvers that Team Ten had drilled. He formed a strange hand seal. The team of genin watched in awe as a duplicate of their sensei appeared in a puff of smoke. It was a corporal clone, too. Naruto could see the shadow.

"For the next hour, you three will be attempting to entrap and take out my Kage Bunshin here. Ino, if you could explain the purpose behind the technique you were just practicing?"

"Of course, sensei!" She approached the two boys. Naruto could see that the girl was excited about having learned a new technique. "The genjutsu is called Kasumi Juusha no Jutsu. It creates a group of imaginary clones to surround the enemy and trick them into thinking our numbers are a lot bigger than they are…"

For the next hour, the three genin wandered about the forest surrounding the training ground, attempting to subdue Asuma's shadow clone. They finally managed it at the end, due to Ino's effective use of genjutsu, Kiba's tracking abilities, and Naruto's linear speed.

The rest of practice was spent sparring, Ino vs. Kiba, and Asuma vs. Naruto, and practicing chakra control. Both Ino and Kiba were struggling with the water walking exercise. In between Naruto learning to use dual blades, Asuma taught him the basics of the Shunshin, Naruto having the required control to attempt it.

It was far from simple. The D-ranked ninjutsu required a fine balance of chakra channeled to the legs, or else the jutsu would implode on the user. It was similar to the Kawarimi in that sense. The whole process needed to be drilled into Naruto's head before he could attempt it. That, combined with the ungodly amount of concentration the jutsu took to use well, meant that Naruto was far from mastering the jutsu.

He knew that the jutsu would be worth its weight in gold. Moving through the village at high speeds would not only cut down his travel time, and it would limit the amount of glares the villagers could send his way. That, and running through the streets was so _civilian_. It was unbefitting of someone such as him.

"Naruto, stay back a minute, will you?" Asuma asked at the end of the practice. Ino and Kiba were limping their way out of the clearing. Naruto was about ready to do the same. He was tired, sore, cut up, and his chakra coils ached like nobody's business.

"What's up, sensei?"

Asuma rummaged around in his utility pouch for a moment before withdrawing a small square of paper and a storage scroll. "I have a side project for you. Elemental manipulation."

Naruto knew his eyes were the size of saucers, but he didn't care. "Sensei?" he questioned in disbelief. "Isn't that a…"

"Skill reserved for chunin and jonin? It is." The jonin had an immensely satisfied look on his face from having stunned his student. "I think, and my father agrees with me, that it is something worthwhile for you to learn."

Naruto blinked, twice. From what information he could glean about the elusive art, it was attempted by chunin in order to become more proficient in ninjutsu. It was a well known requirement for most jonin to have mastered, or at least have use of, two elements. For a genin to begin training in the art…

"Not that I'm complaining, sensei, but why are you teaching me this? It's a skill for chunin and jonin for a reason." Naruto was confused, and he didn't like it.

"I've never known you to doubt your own skills, Naruto. Why start now?" Asuma looked genuinely puzzled.

"No! I'm not doubting myself! It's just that it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. A genin learning elemental ninjutsu is almost unheard of," Naruto countered. He felt that he was arguing against himself, but he wanted to know why. The man had to have a reason.

Asuma nodded sagely, taking a drag on his cigarette. "Almost unheard of. You seem to be pretty well informed. Do you know of any others who learned this skill at your rank?"

Naruto shrugged. "Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Itachi…the Yondaime was reputed to have used elemental techniques at a young age…" he trailed off. Where was this going?

Asuma nodded with a pleased expression, inwardly impressed with the depth of his student's knowledge. He wondered where it came from. Naruto wasn't particularly academically inclined. "All exceptional ninja in their youth. They all became more exceptional as they got older."

That was quite the veiled compliment. "You're putting me in with the likes of those three?"

The chain smoker shrugged. "I'm saying that you've got potential. Your abilities with taijutsu place well above your peers. Your genjutsu is weak, but you can both detect and dispel most ordinary illusions. You've managed a few rudimentary Doton techniques, and that monster in your gut pretty much ensures that you've got some huge chakra reserves."

The man threw his cigarette to the ground and stamped it out. "I'm not saying this for it to go to your head, Naruto, but your ninjutsu capabilities are nearly unheard of in a genin. Ninjutsu and taijutsu are going to be your bread and butter, and your taijutsu is good enough – and will keep getting better – so we can leave it be for the moment."

Naruto was nodding his head along with his sensei's assessment of his abilities. It was flattering to say the least. It was certainly nice to have his skills validated. Even more so, the waves of pride that were coming off Asuma were making him feel happier than he had in a long time.

He wouldn't let him down.

"What do I have to do?" he asked.

Asuma's face lit up. "Just channel some chakra into this paper, here." He handed over the square.

Naruto focused intently on the white square, and channeled his chakra. He was notably surprised when it split in two even halves. Asuma seemed even more delighted than before.

"Well, that makes this even better," he said to himself. At Naruto's questioning face, he continued, "The paper you just used is specially cared for and soaked with chakra. It allows for ninja to determine their elemental affinity simply by channeling chakra into it. If the paper burns, it's fire; if it crinkles, it's lightning; if it gets wet, it's water; if it crumbles, it's earth, and if it splits-"

"It's wind," Naruto finished in an excited whisper. "Aren't you wind natured, sensei?"

"I am," he confirmed. "That makes this all the easier once you complete the proper exercises. I'll be able to teach you plenty of Fuuton techniques. You're lucky too, that I'm your sensei. Wind isn't really common in Konoha, and I can only think of one or two other users who are any good."

Naruto was excited, he couldn't deny that. Here he was, a genin, learning elemental manipulation from a man who could teach him to harness his affinity better than everyone else in the village. Things were looking up.

"You mentioned exercises?"

"Ah, yes." He handed over the storage scroll. "In here, you'll find a collection of exercises for becoming more proficient with every element. They're considered the basic exercises that every ninja should know about their element before attempting to learn elemental ninjutsu. Without them, trying out techniques is like taking a shot in the dark." Naruto's eyebrows were in his hairline. "The fact that you can use two techniques, both of them outside your primary affinity, speaks of the potential I was talking about earlier."

_So, I've got huge-ass chakra reserves, ninjutsu talent, and potential beyond the norm. Fantastic._ He barely kept himself from fist-pumping. It was about time things started getting easier for him.

"This is going to be a side project for you, so that means that you won't be working on it so much in practice with the rest of the team, but feel free to come to me with any questions."

Naruto just nodded his head. Asuma ruffled his hair affectionately as he lit up another cigarette on his way out of the clearing. "Try to enjoy yourself."

"Thanks, sensei," Naruto responded weakly. He absently opened the scroll. Kanji representing wind, earth, fire, lightning, and water were arrayed before him.

A quick application of chakra later, and the wind element was opened.

_Leaf splitting exercise…interesting._

/~/

**AN: Well, I've come to a decision. This story was going to be written in "arcs" anyway, so I figure that I'll upload the arcs when they get their asses written. As it stands, the first arc is just about finished with four chapters written, a fifth about half written, and the final chapter pretty much planned. I really can't keep so much writing just saved on my computer without doing something with it. Unfortunately, with this new system of updates, there will likely be a larger gap between arcs getting posted, instead of regular updates like I had originally planned, but oh well. **

**Here's to hoping to have the first arc fully uploaded by the new year.**

**P.S. New name, new sig, so...  
**

**I'm so pro.  
**


	4. Chapter 3: C rank

Standard Disclaimer: I own nothing save my plot and any OCs that might run rampant through the story.

"I know you're not eyeing that last piece."

An eyebrow was raised in challenge to the proclamation. "Oh? And what if I am?"

"You shouldn't be. That piece is mine!"

A snort. "Says who? First come, first serve is what I say. Isn't that right Akamaru?" Yipping greeted the statement. "That's right. Looks like you're out voted."

Naruto shook his head. "He has no say in this and you know it."

Kiba growled, "Who says he has no say?"

"Well it's not his food now is it? Why should he have a say in something that has no place in this argument?"

Kiba shook his head. "He's a part of the team too, and this is a team matter."

Naruto aped at the dog ninja. "How is this a team matter? It's a piece of meat!"

Kiba shrugged. "Well, sensei's paying, and Ino's eating too. Why shouldn't they have a say in this?"

"Maybe because Ino's already finished the piece you two are so intent on squabbling over," Asuma drawled lazily. He enjoyed the immature squabbled between his team members as much as any sensei could, but it got out of hand sometimes.

"What!" came the simultaneous near screech of his two male students. They both turned incredulous eyes on the third member of Team Ten. The girl sat casually in the booth they occupied, opposite both boys, and simply stared back at the two genin passively.

"I figured that I would solve the problem on my own," said responded with a casual shrug, a smirk playing at the corners of her mouth.

"Why?" That was Naruto.

"Neither of you were getting anywhere with your…discussion."

"But you can't do that!" That was Kiba.

The blond girl tossed him a smirk. "I thought it was first come, first serve," she threw his earlier phrase back at him. Kiba just sputtered incoherently for a moment before settling on a glare that sent Ino into peals of laughter. Naruto just shook his head at the unfairness of it all.

"Pfft, whatever. I gotta split anyway," Kiba grunted. "Thanks for the meal sensei."

"No problem Kiba," Asuma said. "You wouldn't be going home, would you?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Thought it'd be a good idea to talk to your mom about that taijutsu training I recommended for you."

Kiba grimaced. "Yeah, she wasn't all too happy about you trying to get me to move up in the clan style."

Asuma tilted his head to the right, the picture of boredom. "That's why I should talk to her personally. Let her know my side of the story."

Kiba shrugged once more. "Sure. I guess you can come along. Don't blame me if she yells at you though." The boy shuddered comically.

Asuma chuckled at his student's expense. "I think I'll live." He turned to Naruto and Ino. "Just tell them to put it on my tab, guys. I'll see you for training tomorrow."

"Bye sensei."

"Later."

Kiba and Asuma disappeared through the front door of the grilling establishment Naruto had lunched at with Asuma on the first day of his tenure on Team Ten. Sensei and student left the remaining members behind.

"So…" Naruto began after a few moments' silence.

"So," Ino responded with a slight smile.

"…How's life?" Naruto asked awkwardly.

Ino giggled at his awkwardness. It was cute, in its own way. She'd have to find a way to relieve him of that somehow. "It's all good, Naruto. How's yours?"

The boy shrugged. "Can't complain really. Training in between team training and not much else."

Ino nodded along with him. "You know…you never really explained it."

That got Naruto's attention. "Explained what?"

"That dream of yours. S-rank?" she asked, her gaze focused intently on him.

Naruto's eyes widened and he shifted a little uncomfortably in his seat. How did one explain that they had a group of likely S-class shinobi after their head? It wasn't really conversation worthy material. At least not for genin.

"Well…you remember how I used to always shout about wanting to be Hokage?" Ino nodded, memories of their early Academy days surfacing. "Well, at some point along the way, I realized just what that would entail. Random genin with head's too big for their shoulders don't get the hat," he said with a small chuckle.

"So S-rank is a jumping off point?"

Naruto shrugged. "I guess, but it's more of something to strive for in general. Being Hokage isn't top on priority list these days. I figure if I set the bar high enough, I'll get further than someone who just dreams of being an average jonin."

Ino nodded in acceptance. It wasn't a bad idea. She was somewhat surprised to hear such mature thoughts coming from her sometimes – read most of the time – goof of a teammate. The boy could certainly be a mystery. _A girl likes a guy with a little mystery_, Ino thought with a concealed smirk. She wasn't lying either. The mystery surrounding Sasuke had been the kick start of her ill fated crush on the boy.

She had moved on to more important things these days, however. Like actually being a kunoichi. Asuma had seen to that.

"I notice you don't ask me about Sasuke so much anymore." Speak of the devil and he shall appear…in conversation.

Ino shrugged, a bit uncomfortable with the change in topic regardless of the fact that she had been thinking about it of her own accord. "And that's a bad thing? I thought you didn't like it when I did that."

Naruto nodded. "True. I'm just wondering what happened, that's all. You over him or something?" he asked casually.

Ino was having none of that. She tossed him the best salacious smirk she could manage. "Oh? Why? You interested perhaps?"

Naruto coughed and sputtered as he tried to formulate an answer. A nearly unbearable heat rose to his cheeks and Naruto inwardly cursed himself for blushing. "What, no!" he began before noticing Ino's stormy expression. "That's not to say that you're ugly or anything, Ino!" he quickly backpedaled. The girl in question just sat there contentedly, enjoying watching the boy make a fool of himself. He really was too cute at times.

"Well…I…uh…" he trailed off lamely. He shook himself and eyed Ino from across the table. "Maybe I should just go. Yeah, that's a good idea." Ino nodded absently at him. Her blank expression gave him pause, and a blush rose to his face once more. "Well, uh, bye then," he said as he made his undignified exit.

"Bye, Naruto," she chirped, delighting in his haste to get out of the restaurant. Only once he was away did she let herself laugh at his expense. _That was just too easy_, she thought happily. She would have to make a habit of making him uncomfortable like that.

Her eyes followed Naruto out the door of the restaurant, and her thoughts turned back to their conversation. She really had all but moved on from Sasuke. Asuma had taken a sadistic pleasure in disabusing her of all the thoughts she had about the myopic boy. It had been hard to see him in the same light when all his faults had been laid out in front of her so casually.

Her opinion had been forcefully reevaluated. It was pretty easy to see, now that she chose to, that Sasuke was far from the tragic prince that he had seemed back in the Academy. Sure he had a troubled past, far more troubled than most ninja, but that didn't really excuse his almost verbally abusive behavior toward so many people. Hell, even Naruto called him a bastard, and he was Sasuke's only real friend, as far as Ino knew.

The blond girl shook herself as she placed the meal on Asuma's tab. He frequented the grilling establishment quite a bit. It wouldn't do to dwell on Sasuke anymore. She had far more important things to think about: like being a true kunoichi, and maybe a certain blond teammate who was just too much fun to tease.

/~/

Naruto tilted his head to the side calmly. It wouldn't do to lose his cool here. He'd lose his head if he did.

The whoosh of air greeted him as he ducked under a second slash. The form was good. It was clean, efficient, and deadly. He'd likely compliment the girl on her skill if he wasn't in such a precarious position.

He twisted his body acrobatically to avoid being sliced, and used the gathered momentum to bring his kunai around in a horizontal sweep at the girl's eye level. It was blocked easily, but that was the beauty of having two kunai.

The second blade impacted the tanto, halting the first, and the short blade gave way. The girl pulled back and ducked under Naruto's follow up kick. His sandal had just missed her face.

Naruto landed gracefully, and pushed off. His right kunai came up in a cross slash at the girl's face. She dodged it. _It would have been perfect had he been using wind chakra_, he thought. As it was, he was barely resisting the temptation to bring his element into the fight. The idea of wrapping his kunai in deadly Fuuton chakra was tantalizing.

_If only it wasn't forbidden. Bloody restrictions._

It evened the playing field, in any event. He had little doubt that Ino's tanto wouldn't last long against the wild nature of the wind.

If only the girl wasn't quite so good with it.

He blocked an overhead slash with both kunai, and used his position on one knee to leverage his throw. Ino righted herself in mid-air with a small application of chakra, and landed gracefully. Naruto was on her before her second foot touched the ground.

He struck out in a series of lightning fast slashes, keeping his arms close to his body. They were like punches, in a way, and Naruto wanted to lessen the effect of the girl's blade by getting in close. It worked well. Her blade occupied by one of Naruto's kunai, it was easily knocked out of her grip by the second of Naruto's weapons.

The blond girl recovered quickly, and struck out with her own kunai almost faster than Naruto could track. She had gotten good. He barely blocked with the tip of his left blade, and redirected the stab just past his left shoulder. He turned defense into offense, and used Ino's off balance state to utilize a bit of tai-chi.

Cerulean met sea blue as skin was a hair's breadth apart, before Naruto was spinning past and Ino was sailing through the air. The girl glared as she righted herself. Naruto grinned.

He was upon her as fast as the eye could blink, but the first strike was deftly caught. She leaned back to avoid the second one, but Naruto used his weight to pull her into him. Her breath caught as she was pushed into his chest, the developing muscles not being a great cushion. _It has its own upside_, she decided.

She was on the ground just as quickly, a kunai at her throat. Naruto's devilish smirk was reflected on the face of his fellow blond as the girl disappeared in a burst of leaves.

"I win, Naruto-kun," Ino breathed into his ear. The girl's heated pants were in sharp contrast to the icy cold of the tanto at his neck. The boy barely repressed a shiver at the sensation. _God dammit_. He was a hormonal twelve year old in puberty. The feel of her breath on his ear and neck did things to him that he didn't want to think about. It didn't help that he actually liked the girl.

"Do you now?" he asked as he enacted a quick Kawarimi, keeping his voice level through force of will alone. His huge chakra reserves easily displaced her own, and Naruto swiftly found himself on top. His kunai found its way to the girl's flawless skin. "I think that _I_ win."

"Didn't know you liked this position, Naruto-kun," Ino spoke. Her voice was slightly muffled from her face being face down in the grass. "I didn't think you liked to play rough."

Naruto snorted, though he blushed to the tips of his hair. He was glad Ino's face was on the ground. It would only provide her with more teasing material. "Hardly, Ino." He let her up. He was used to her perpetual teasing. Mostly. She had started almost two months ago, and there was little Naruto could do but grin and bear it. He even retaliated occasionally.

"Aw." She pouted cutely as she brushed the dirt off her clothes. She gave him a sultry look. "Done already? That's too bad, a girl appreciates a guy with a little stamina." The look was positively vampish.

Naruto locked eyes with her. "I wouldn't worry about it," he said while turning away. "There's plenty left in the tank," he tossed over his shoulder.

"Ohh." She was positively cooing now. Her breath was suddenly on his ear again. _How did she get so close?_ "That sounds promising." Her words were melting in his right ear. He shivered. She chuckled throatily. She knew exactly what she was doing to him. "Tell me, Naruto-kun, can you take my breath away?"

She didn't wait for his answer as she sashayed away, her hips swaying pleasantly. Naruto shook his head at her antics. _So undignified_, he thought with annoyance. It was almost humiliating, the effect the girl could have on him. Their little flirt sessions had become normal in the past two months. If not for the fact that Ino did it outside of training, he would have thought that Asuma had gotten her to do it as some sort of bizarre training against seduction specialists. His personal comfort was pretty far down on the jonin's priority list.

It was downright annoying most of the time. It didn't help that his attraction to the girl simply added to the overall effect she had on him. That just made it more annoying.

It would have been fine if he wasn't one hundred and ten percent sure that she was still fixated on Sasuke. Someone didn't just get over a crush that fast. As it was, it felt like she was leading him on, and that just wasn't right. There was little he could do about it though. She wasn't about to stop, and a small, masochistic part of him didn't want her to.

He actually enjoyed spending time around the girl. They were remarkably similar in nature. Both were loud, somewhat obnoxious when it suited them, and each could get serious when it mattered. He had taken to hanging out with Ino whenever he could, outside of the regular team activities, and was more than a little pleased that she stopped bugging him about Sasuke so much.

"Ah, I see you two finished," Asuma drawled from his position against a tree. Kiba was nearby, licking his wounds from his spar with the jonin. Akamaru yipped when the two genin made their presence known. "And?"

"I won sensei," Naruto piped up before Ino could add her own commentary. The girl stuck her tongue out at him.

"You look like you want to say something, Ino." Asuma was amused. His voice betrayed him, though he tried to keep his face schooled in neutrality.

Ino caught Naruto's eye and scowled. "Nothing, sensei." Naruto grinned. _The ninja who complains is a dead one_. The girl had let her guard down at a critical moment, and it cost her. It was unlikely that she would make the same mistake again.

Asuma raised an eyebrow at the small byplay, but let it slide. They were mature enough to handle their own problems. "Alrighty then. If we're all in good enough shape, I think we'll ask the Hokage for a C-ranked mission today." He gazed at his three students, gauging their reactions. "That is, _if_ you all feel up to it."

Ino raised her head determinedly, she wasn't about to back down at the prospect of a C-rank mission. She was still fresh, despite the spar she had just finished. Even if she wasn't, she likely wouldn't have backed down.

"Hell yeah, Asuma-sensei! Me and Akamaru are ready to go!" Kiba's answer wasn't hard to interpret. Akamaru's barking just added to the cacophony of noise his partner was making.

Asuma's eyes met Naruto. The blond raised an eyebrow. "Is that a question?" His sensei just chuckled. He hadn't thought for a second that Naruto would deny the opportunity for a C-ranked mission. He didn't think the others would have either. It wasn't in their nature.

"Well then, shall we?"

He strolled out of the clearing, puffing on his cigarette casually. His students followed in his wake with excitement. It wasn't their first C-rank, it would be their fifth, but the prospect of leaving the village for a mission was always exciting for the young genin.

Naruto scowled from between his teammates as Ino bumped hips with him. Again. He was sure that it was to make up for the way he had "won" their little spar. The girl delighted in making him uncomfortable, in any event, and Naruto was developing an immunity to her games. It was coming along far too slowly for his liking.

The threesome made idle conversation as they passed through the village. There wasn't all that much going on in the village, and they all had the same friends for the most part. The chatting revolved mostly around those who didn't graduate the Academy, or were in the Reserve Corps. Ino, especially, had many friends in the Reserve corps.

"It's really annoying, too. Their training hours are almost longer than ours, most of the time. And that doesn't even include the time spent in class," Ino grumbled.

"They need the extra training," Kiba pointed out. "Those scrubs need all the extra attention they can get."

Naruto snorted at Kiba's eloquence. Ino shrugged delicately. "Maybe, but I feel like they're avoiding me a lot of the time. I see a bunch of them running around the village on their off hours, but they never want to hang out anymore."

Naruto sighed as Ino's insecurities were brought to the fore. He hung around with the blond girl on a regular basis, so he became the sounding board that she talked to more often than not. Most of her friends that didn't graduate the Academy were downright jealous and hostile to the pretty girl, and it looked like the ones in the Reserves were starting to follow. She had been the most popular girl in the Academy by far. Seeing so many of her friends leave her out of jealousy wasn't an easy experience for the blond.

"Bah, they probably just don't want to hang around such an obnoxious girl like you anyway," Naruto quipped. He held back his smirk as Ino's expression grew progressively darker. "Loud, annoying, pretty perverted too, right?" he asked Kiba playfully. The dog boy nodded with a feral grin.

"Baka!" Ino screamed at him. "I'm not a pervert!"

"Could've fooled me. You seemed pretty excited back in the training ground, or was I imagining things?" Asuma and Kiba both chuckled at the girl's incoherent sputtering. He mentally patted himself on the back for bringing his fellow blond out of her funk.

Ino huffed in annoyance and turned away, hiding her blush from her teammates. The chatter devolved into ideas about what their mission might entail. The team had taken four C-ranks before this one, and all four had been simply escort missions. The most eventful had been their first. They had escorted a merchant to the Fire Capital and had encountered a bandit troop along the way.

The three had made their first kills along a dirt road in the wilderness, and Asuma had held an impromptu counseling session for the three. Well trained they might have been, but they were still children. The first kill was always traumatizing.

Naruto perked up as they reached the Administrative Building. Team Eight was exiting. He wasn't all that familiar with Shino or Hinata, but Chouji had been one of his running buddies back in the Academy. "Oi, Chouji!" he called.

He caught the attention of both teams. The boy in question smiled when he saw his blond friend. "Hey, Naruto! What's happening?" The genin teams converged in the street. Asuma immediately stuck up a conversation with their jonin, a pretty red eyed woman. Kiba was doing his best not to be caught staring.

"Not much, man. Just getting a C-rank mission," Naruto boasted proudly. "You?"

The large boy munched his chips happily. "Just got back from our first! Escort to Otafuku Gai."

"Anything happen?" Ino interjected, casually leaning against Naruto for reasons unknown.

Chouji didn't question the contact, but he looked surprised. So did the rest of the squad. Naruto just brushed it off as her usual antics. "Nothing out of the ordinary. The man was nice enough when we got there. He showed us some great restaurants."

Naruto chuckled at his friend's obsession with food. "I bet you loved that, didn't you? All good back there, Shino, Hinata?" he asked, trying to bring the less vocal members of the team into the conversation. Shino stood to the side, observing the rest with his usual stoicism. Hinata had her gaze turned on Ino with an unreadable expression in her white eyes.

Shino shook his head without a word; he had always been weird like that. Hinata turned her gaze from Ino and blushed at being addressed. "A-ano, we are fine, N-Naruto-k-kun. How a-are y-y-you?" she stuttered. She had always been weird like that too. Naruto thought it odd that the heir to such a large and powerful clan was so timid.

"S'all good, I guess," he replied. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I guess we ought to be going, if Kiba's done checking out your sensei that is." He elbowed the dog ninja in the ribs. Ino smacked the back of his head. Kiba stuck his tongue out at the two blonds without a word. It was all par for the course.

Naruto missed Hinata's violent glare at Ino's head as he turned to the two senseis. "We good, Asuma-sensei?" The smoker nodded, though he seemed annoyed at being dragged away from his conversation.

"See ya' around, guys!" Naruto called. They each responded in kind.

"Oh, I bet they're dating," Ino gushed quietly once Asuma had taken the lead into the tower.

"Who?" Naruto and Kiba asked simultaneously.

"Asuma and Kurenai! I could see it in their body language."

Naruto and Kiba exchanged a disbelieving look. "Since when are you are you good at reading body language?" Kiba asked. "You're not even all that good at anything else."

Ino gave him the finger. "Call it woman's intuition, dog boy, but I could sense it!"

"Last I checked, Ino, you were still a girl. Don't you need to be a woman to have woman's intuition?" Kiba asked snidely. Naruto snorted at the byplay. Ino growled before crossing her arms in a huff.

"Look sharp, team," Asuma ordered as they reached the missions office. He put out his cigarette as they entered.

The Sandaime glanced up from his mound of paperwork as Team Ten entered the office. Naruto was surprised to see Iruka seated next to him. The scarred chunin looked haggard and worn down by the immense amount of paper in front of him. He perked up as he saw the team of genin.

"Team Ten reporting for duty, Hokage-sama," Asuma drawled. Naruto noticed that there always seemed to be a lack of respect between his sensei and the Hokage. He wondered at their odd relationship. He knew form his research about Asuma that they were father and son, as well as the man's own admission. Their relationship seemed strained, however.

"Ah, of course." The Hokage smiled benignly at the genin team. They all looked down and shuffled their feet in the presence of the grandfatherly legend. The old man chuckled at their bashfulness. "Will that be another D-rank, or are we in the market for a C-rank mission today?" he asked.

"A C-rank, if you will?" Asuma asked stiffly. He never was comfortable in his father's presence.

"My, my, that will be your fifth. An impressive record for a rookie squad. Wouldn't you agree, Iruka-kun?"

The scarred man nodded hesitantly. It was his first day in the office and he wasn't so used to being addressed by the Hokage directly. "It is. Are you sure they're well prepared, Asuma-san?" The concern for his former students was evident.

"Quite. I'll thank you not to question my teaching ability in the future, Iruka-san. They are my soldiers now. Not your students," the jonin said tersely.

The Hokage just chuckled at his son's mood. "Now, now. Iruka-kun, why don't you get that mission we set aside earlier?" The chunin looked a little surprised at the request, but complied anyway.

The Sandaime flipped open the mission file. "Ah, yes. I had originally saved this for Kakashi's squad of genin, but he's late. I don't feel like making the client wait much longer than necessary, you see. It's bad for business," the old man rambled on. Naruto snickered at the image the man projected. Ino and Kiba were far more at ease given the Hokage's friendly behavior. It was easy to be at ease with someone who appeared so eccentric, rather than a real living legend. Naruto knew full well how serious the man could be, given the right situation. He had seen it many times in his youth, not to mention their most recent encounter.

"Send for Tazuna-san," the elder Sarutobi ordered Iruka. "It's a standard bodyguard mission. You will be escorting Mr. Tazuna to his home country in the Land of Waves. The full mission includes a month long stay in Wave Country and the overseeing of the completion of Tazuna-san's bridge." He passed the information packet to his son. Asuma gave it a once over before nodding once, sharply.

The door opened behind the trio of genin, and they swiveled to see an old man dressed in working clothes. He had a scraggly beard and was holding a large sake bottle. "Where are my super bodyguards? I know I paid for them. And who are these super brats, here?" he grumbled, adjusting his spectacles absentmindedly.

All three genin narrowed their eyes at the man. His breath stank of the cheap rice wine.

The Hokage chuckled behind them. "_These_ are your bodyguards, Tazuna-san. I assure you that they are quite well trained and prepared, despite their age. Team Ten is one of our foremost genin squads."

The man scoffed. "Coulda fooled me. A shrimpy blond, a little girl, and some kid playing with his dog. Is this the best you have to offer?" The three genin growled at the man who dared insult their skills, not to mention the slight against the Hokage. The disrespect was ridiculous. They exchanged a look. Some good natured pranking would have to take place to teach the codger a lesson, it seemed.

The Hokage seemed used to dealing with difficult clients, however, if his easy smile was any indication. "Rest assured, they are quite competent. Even so, my son is their jonin sensei. Should any trouble arise that they cannot handle, he will be more than capable." Asuma raised an eyebrow at the praise, but said nothing.

The old man huffed. "If you say so, Hokage. I just thought I'd get a team of super ninja for my money."

"If you were willing to pay a higher price, I would happily assign you a team of chunin. Would that satisfy you, Tazuna-san?" the Sandaime asked pleasantly.

The bridge builder looked nervous for a moment, but collected himself. "Ah, no. That won't be necessary."

"In that case, I bid you a safe journey."

/~/

Clothes were rolled, weapons were stacked and ordered, and utilities were neatly arranged on Naruto's bed. He wondered how he was going to fit them all into his pack. The answer came to him like a slap in the face. Storage scrolls.

He really was an idiot sometimes.

Five minutes and four storage scrolls later, the bed was free of all clutter. He was set to meet his team in half an hour at the west gate. He'd indulge himself for the time being. One cup of boiling water and three minutes later, the blond was grinning around his instant ramen. Life was good with the best food in the world.

He considered his position as he munched on his favorite food. The team was progressing nicely. He, Kiba, and Ino had developed a solid rapport and camaraderie, with Asuma as their leader. He had always had a few friends at the Academy, but they never had quite the connection that he and his teammates possessed. Not even Sasuke. He supposed it was natural. Team Ten was like a family in certain ways. A highly dysfunctional family, but a family nonetheless.

Asuma especially, had come to play a major role in Naruto's life. The man had taken a keen interest in the boy's development, as well as a more personal interest in the young blond. The man had made himself available to the blond whenever it was necessary. While Naruto liked to deal with his own problems, it was nice to have someone to talk to about them.

Naruto blinked as his internal clock told him it was time to leave. Being late wasn't one habit he wanted to develop. That was doubly so given the more volatile client he was currently employed by. The blond briefly weighed the pros and cons of showing up late, before deciding that pissing off Tazuna wouldn't be worth the ration of crap his team would give him.

He needn't have worried. Apparently Kiba and Ino had had his same idea, though they chose to act upon it. Tazuna looked pissed after fifteen minutes. Asuma was barely containing his amusement. "You're late," he said in a passing imitation of annoyance.

"Sorry, sensei." Kiba couldn't have been more contrite looking.

"I apologize, sensei. An old lady was crossing the street in front of me and I stopped to help like a proper kunoichi." Ino bowed low to conceal what Naruto knew was a smile. He was impressed. Apparently he wasn't the only one who had heard about Hatake Kakashi's legendary excuses.

"An honorable reason. Apology accepted," Asuma declared in a solemn tone. He was a good actor. Tazuna was gaping at the sight. The jonin regarded their client. "If you are ready, Tazuna-san, we can be off."

The drunken bridge builder just nodded, grumbling under his breath about stupid brats. Naruto gave his teammates discreet low-fives. It wasn't bad for now, but he would have to come up with some more suitable punishment for the insults he threw them earlier. Nobody fucked with his clique.

Asuma spared the gate guards, a pair of bored looking chunin, a wave as he lead the troop out at a sedate pace. Naruto groaned as he realized that they would have to walk for Tazuna's sake. The travel time would make this mission last even longer. It was just what he needed, more time around a volatile and disrespectful drunk. He'd likely end up killing the man before the mission ended. He caught Ino's gaze; it wasn't hard. She was kind of staring at him. They exchanged a look of mutual trepidation. This mission was going to suck.

The group moved westward along the dirt road. The three genin made idle conversation amongst themselves, but it was stagnate. There was no denying the boredom. Naruto even took to glancing at the trees and animals along the side of the road for amusement. At least Akamaru was having fun. Kiba had let his dog go to chase chipmunks down the path.

"Are there any ninja in your country, Tazuna-san?" Ino asked, mostly out of boredom than any real interest. Of course there weren't any ninja in Wave, he would have hired _them_, rather than Konoha shinobi.

The old man seemed surprised at being addressed by the girl, but answered, "No. I would have hired them if there were. A super bridge builder like me deserves a super ninja escort, so I came to Konoha," the man proclaimed proudly.

"Wasn't he griping about us being super _brats_ not too long ago?" Kiba asked Naruto under his breath. Naruto choked out a laugh.

"Hn," he replied in a passable imitation of Sasuke's disinterest. Kiba scowled at him for the reply.

Asuma was giving Ino a lesson on the various satellite nations who patronized Konoha with their business for missions. "Wave, like River Country and Tea country, all come to Konoha for their missions. It's why reputation is such a huge deal in the shinobi world. If people think that we can't get the job done properly, they'll go somewhere else for business. That's not good for us, obviously," he summed up. Ino nodded absently. She had been the second best academic student in their graduating class. She knew all of that already, and Asuma was well aware of that fact.

It was a testament to how bored they all were that the unnecessary conversation actually happened.

They continued on. Naruto was getting increasingly more agitated with their client. Once he had satisfied his need to grumble incoherently, he started in on Naruto. The boy had the unfortunate fate to be walking closest to the man.

"You're a bit short to be a super ninja, aren't you, kid?" Tazuna asked. Naruto narrowed his eyes. He wasn't really that short. He was average height for his age, standing at five foot one. He was just around taller people more often than not. Tazuna was one of those people.

Ino, Kiba, and Asuma all palmed their foreheads. _Here we go_, they thought.

"You'll find, Tazuna-san, that size doesn't matter all that much," he began, launching into a full blown speech, eyes closed and hands behind his head in relaxation. He flipped Kiba the bird over his shoulder at the boy's snort. "Having a compact form can be helpful in many situations. For example, in close combat, my shorter limbs give me an advantage over my taller counterparts. Whereas their more sweeping attacks are rendered useless by my proximity, I have a full range of motion."

Naruto was on a roll. It was well prepared and executed defense. "Similarly, in long distance engagements, my smaller form is a more difficult target for all but the most accurate of shinobi. Shortness of stature can also translate to speed. It does in my case…" His team shook their heads collectively as Naruto rambled on about the merits of being short. They had all heard it before. Many times. They had learned not to insult the boy's height, not if they didn't want to be bored to death. He always seemed to come up with new material as well.

Tazuna just nodded his head continually as the boy delivered his long winded spiel. "Yeah…" he finally drawled, "I just don't see it."

Naruto scowled fiercely at the muffled laughter of his teammates. The man had insulted his skills, his team, and now his height. He happily switched places with Ino before he caused an incident. "Ya' think it would be so horrible for our reputation if he was killed? In an accident, that is. Never can be too careful with bandits in the area," he mumbled to Kiba and Asuma.

"Aw, did he hit a sore spot with your height, Naruto?" Kiba ribbed him.

The blond just snorted haughtily. "Just you wait. You can bet your ass he'll insult Akamaru at some point. Then what, dog boy?"

Kiba just shrugged. "My clan would understand if something were to happen."

Naruto just snorted and pulled out one of his guides on elemental manipulation. The leaf and water splitting exercises had been completed recently, and he was finally able to channel some Fuuton chakra. It had only taken him three months. Asuma had given him a few basic wind techniques to learn, and the blond was happy with his progress. He now had two Fuuton jutsu to add to his meager collection of ninjutsu, bringing his total up to four. Fuuton: Diatoppa and Fuuton: Reppushou had been easy enough for the blond to learn. They required little focus and precision, and were basic techniques to be known by Fuuton users. The lack of control needed helped Naruto immensely, his chakra control still not being his strong point.

It was downright frustrating. The more he did chakra control exercises, the more chakra he developed. _More to burn_, he reasoned.

The Renkudan, on the other hand, required an intricate formation and manipulation of the wild wind chakra. It made the C-rank ninjutsu harder to master and control, but that much more deadly. He was still working on that one.

His work with wrapping the Fuuton chakra around his weapons had come surprisingly easily to the blond. He had to fight the urge to feel the rush of wind during his spars with his teammates. Unrefined though his manipulation was, it could still deal plenty of damage.

He was moving on to Doton manipulation. It seemed the natural step to take after he had the basics of his true affinity down. He had already plowed through two earth techniques without knowing the proper way to mold and guide the chakra. He hoped that the knowledge in the elemental scroll would make using the techniques more chakra efficient.

His mind retreated to the present as Kiba nudged him in the side. "What's up, dog boy?"

"Seriously, man, you've got to shower more," the Inuzuka grumbled. Naruto was on guard immediately.

"What the hell do you mean?" He took a whiff of his armpit. "I smell fine, idiot."

The boy shook his head, unusually serious. "Not to this nose. You might as well have just jumped in a sewer."

Naruto swatted at the back of Kiba's head. "Bah, you don't know what you're talking about, mutt!" He coughed lightly as a glob of saliva got lodged in his windpipe. He spit it in a nearby puddle he passed. _Fucking scrubs_.

The team continued on in relative peace, Ino and Asuma snickering at the byplay between the two boys. Tazuna just sipped more of his sake and glanced about shiftily.

The sound of displaced water brought a smirk to Naruto's face, and he turned just in time to see Asuma ripped to shreds by two masked men in rusted armor. The sight of his sensei's demise froze him for a second, but he regained his senses after his eyes picked up the shredded form of a log. _Nice one, sensei!_

The smirk returned.

"Look sharp, Ino, Kiba!" he called as the two masked and armored men charged him.

"One down!" the chain wielding duo snarled.

Naruto hit the ground as the duo approached, and watched a brace of shuriken fly toward the men courtesy of Ino. A slight disruption of chakra alerted him to a genjutsu being placed, and he turned to see Ino and Tazuna disappearing in a haze. _Perfect_.

The shuriken hadn't hit their target, but had successfully separated the two men, who had detached their chain into two parts in order to avoid the incoming weapons. Naruto and Kiba took the initiative.

Almost faster than the eye could blink, Naruto palmed two kunai. The wind howled behind him as the knives were enveloped in wind chakra.

He fell to his knees and slid under a chain swipe at his neck. A deft flick of the wrist sent one of his kunai flying to intercept the chain closer to the masked man, and the wind enhanced blade split the weapon with ease. The man cursed as more than half of his chain hit the ground, utterly useless.

He recovered quickly, however, and sent three shuriken racing toward Naruto, who deflected them with his own throwing stars. Drawing three kunai, he flicked them toward the masked man before following with a seal sequence. The wind roared and the unannounced Fuuton: Reppushou propelled the throwing knives at triple their normal speed.

The man was quick, and managed to avoid all but one of the enhanced knives, which pierced his unarmored left shoulder. His scream of pain as the blade tore through him was music to Naruto's ears.

The momentary distraction was all the time Naruto needed. The boy put on a burst of speed as he approached the armored assailant, and delivered a devastating drop kick to the man's re-breather. The heavy metal crunched into the man's face and made a series of jagged, painful lacerations. The scream was muffled as blood spurted out from underneath the metal.

A newly palmed kunai was in an ice pick grip and thrust into the man's skull with Naruto's accompanying roar of triumph. He moved on before the body hit the ground, his kill already forgotten in the rush of battle. He paid little mind to the blood on his hands as he scanned his surroundings.

Noticing Kiba struggling with his opponent, Naruto momentarily disengaged his resistance seals. The unsuspecting man was swept off his feet by a charging Naruto, before he was ruthlessly plowed into the ground by a rapidly spinning Kiba.

"Tsuuga!" the feral boy screamed.

Naruto spun his remaining knife around his finger as he approached the groaning form. The man was playing possum, however, and his clawed hand shot out to stab Naruto's chest. The boy brought his kunai to bear, but it proved unnecessary as an invisible blade of wind neatly sliced the metal gauntlet off at the hand, blood covering Naruto as it gushed out.

Naruto smiled at the familiar form of his sensei while his attacker screamed in pain. "I take it you had a reason," he stated more than asked, sweeping the blood off his clothes with disinterest.

"Of course," was the given answer. He said nothing else as he picked the man up by the back of his neck and placed him, none too gently, against a tree.

Naruto walked over to Kiba and Ino, who had dropped her cloaking genjutsu. The girl gave him an appraising once over. "You all right?" she asked gruffly. Naruto smiled at the hidden note of concern.

"'Course, Ino-chan. Scrubs like that don't have nothing on me," he proclaimed proudly. He puffed his chest out. The girl shook her head in exasperation as she playfully hit him in the chest, disregarding the blood still there.

"Idiot," was all she said, though she smiled fondly at him.

Naruto laughed at her reaction. He always enjoyed some fake posturing. "How 'bout you, Kiba?"

"Pfft, as if I would be any worse. I didn't even need Akamaru for that scrub!" Ino slapped the back of his head.

"As if! I saw you getting run over until Naruto gave you an opening, baka! Stop trying to sound so cool." Naruto chuckled heartily at the byplay, and Kiba and Ino joined in soon after. Sharing a good laugh after a life or death situation always served to diffuse the tension. They had learned that after their first kills. They had made a note to do it after every incident they were involved in.

Tazuna watched the team's interactions with an eye filled with trepidation. He had just seen two of his bodyguards – children, no less – deal with his attackers in a spectacular fashion. After their sensei had been torn to shreds! The blond one had even killed one of them! And now they were laughing about the whole thing like they hadn't just been lethally attacked. He shook his head as his hands shook involuntarily. This ninja business was scary.

He took a hearty swig of his sake, silently lamenting his small stock he had brought with him.

Naruto noticed their client's look. He smirked devilishly. "Aren't you glad you hired us, Tazuna-san. There's no telling what might have happened if we hadn't been here, right?" The man just nodded quickly. Naruto could just sense the fear rolling off him. He found that he liked the thought of the man fearing him. It showed respect for his skills.

His triumph over his civilian client was interrupted by Asuma's hand on the drunk's shoulder. His expression was stormy as he regarded their client. "Tazuna-san…we have to talk."

The man stuttered and sputtered as Asuma hit him with a small dose of killing intent. "W-what's the p-p-problem?" he asked nervously.

"You are, unfortunately." The killing intent abruptly vanished. Naruto made note of the technique. By giving the civilian a small dose of what he could do, Asuma would likely never have to consciously intimidate the man again.

"What do you mean?" Tazuna had regained some of his capacities, what little of them there were to begin with.

"I mean that, after I was "killed", I saw my two attackers racing toward you," Asuma said with severity. "Now, those two were chunin nuke-nin from Kirigakure no Sato. I would understand if they were after me. I have a nice sized bounty on my head. But they weren't. Why, exactly, would two C-ranked missing-nin be after you, Tazuna-san?"

The bridge builder visibly wilted at the verbal dressing down. "We weren't informed of there being ninja after you, Tazuna-san. This mission is at least a B-rank right now, possibly higher. We need to know what we're getting in to."

"Sensei," Naruto spoke. "If this mission has been upgraded to B-rank, we should return to the village." He let Kiba's and Ino's immediate protests wash over him. Did they not think his pride was stinging from this? "If these two were chunin rank, we can assume that a jonin would be our next opponent…" he left the statement hanging. He was confident in his skills, but he knew that he couldn't take a jonin.

There was no doubt in his mind that Asuma was very skilled, he had done his research on the man, but he would be hamstrung by both protecting Tazuna and his team. It was those subtle details that often decided ninja battles. His pride might have been hurt from visibly backing down, but he had no desire to see Asuma or his teammates in a lethal and uncontrollable situation. _A smart shinobi knows when retreat is the best option_, he consoled himself.

Asuma was visibly stunned. Of all his team, he had expected the bold and somewhat headstrong Naruto to be the last to back down. _He's more mature than I thought_. He was impressed.

"Wait!" Tazuna yelled. "Sensei, Asuma-san, it's true that this mission is likely outside of your duties." He seemed to shrink inside himself. "The truth is, I have a super dangerous man after me."

"Super dangerous?" Ino asked. Tazuna nodded quickly.

"Yeah…you might have heard of him. Gatou."

Asuma's eyebrows were in danger of taking flight. "The shipping magnate? He's one of the richest men in the world, what could he possibly want with you?"

Tazuna leaned against a nearby tree as he began his tale. "That he is, but there's an underbelly to his business. He traffics drugs and other illegal materials using his business and hired shinobi. He even uses ninja and gang members to take over other businesses and even countries!"

_What a piece of work_, Naruto thought harshly. Whether it was directed at Gatou or their sniveling client was unclear.

"About a year ago," Tazuna continued. "He set his sights on Wave Country. I'm not sure why, but it probably has to do with Wave's proximity to the ocean, along with the fishing business. Anyway, he managed to completely take over Wave's economy through the shipping business. All he has to fear is my completing of the bridge."

Asuma nodded in thought. "Your bridge will destroy his monopoly over Wave's economy, thus limiting his influence." The trio of genin all nodded in understanding of the situation.

"Why would you hide from us, though?" Naruto questioned, curiosity overriding his anger at the man. "I there were shinobi after you, you should have gotten a more expensive mission, with more experienced bodyguards."

Tazuna dropped his head. "Wave Country is super poor. Not even the Daimyo has any real money anymore. Gatou's drained it all. No one has enough money for a more expensive B-rank mission."

"Even so," Asuma interjected. "The Hokage would have understood your plight. It wouldn't have been much trouble to loan you the money necessary for the mission. You could have paid it back at a later date."

Tazuna looked surprised at the thought, and then wilted once more. "I understand your reluctance. If you choose to end the mission now, my life is forfeit." Naruto sighed at the obvious guilt trip the man was trying. "But don't worry about it! If I die, my super cute grandson will only cry for a few days. Oh yeah, and my daughter will just hate leaf ninja for the rest of her life. But it won't be your fault!" he finished with a smile so fake it was painful to watch.

_He can't be serious_, Naruto thought with a deadpan expression. Unfortunately, he was, and it was working.

"Sensei, I don't know about you, but I want to complete the mission," Kiba declared. "I may not like the guy, but I won't let him and his family suffer." It was a surprising declaration. It was most likely the boy's pride talking, but he made it sound good at least.

"That goes for me too, Asuma-sensei," Ino said. Her eyes bored into Naruto's, as if daring to disagree with her. He met the gaze with his own, trying his best to get her to back down without resorting to actual words.

The jonin nodded at his team's declarations. "Looks like you've been out voted Naruto." The blond boy nodded in resignation. "Thankfully, I'm still team captain, and my decision is the only one that counts." Naruto perked up again.

"Then we're going home?" he asked hopefully. Neither his teammates nor the sob story had persuaded him.

Asuma sighed. "No, we'll complete the mission. But, I'll place a note for the ANBU for when they retrieve the bodies. Proper back-up will be arranged and sent."

Naruto nodded his acceptance, though reluctantly. He wasn't happy, and he had a bad feeling about the mission as a whole, but he'd abide by his superior's decision. He knew better than to try to change his sensei's mind.

Asuma retrieved a scroll from inside his jonin vest, and swiped some blood on it. A small, mechanical bird popped out in a burst of smoke. One quick scribble later, and the yellow mechanical bird was in flight toward Konoha.

"Well then, good work team. Your response to an outward threat of shinobi was well timed and executed." Asuma gave the three twelve year olds a proud smile. They had worked well together. "We'll go over the ins and outs of your performance when we reach Wave Country."

All three genin puffed up proudly. Their hard work was paying off.

"Now, Tazuna-san, I would hope that you would be willing to move a little bit faster. In the interest of safety, of course."

The bridge builder acquiesced without so much as a grumble. He realized what position he had placed the team in, and wasn't willing to push his luck any further than he had.

While the team restocked, Naruto jogged around the clearing to pick up the discarded weapons he had used. He stopped near a tree where his dead opponent was rapidly cooling. He blinked as the memories from the fight resurfaced. He had barely noticed when he stabbed the man in the head.

Unbidden, the memory of Asuma cautioning the team after their fist kills came to mind.

"_The midst of battle is the most dangerous time for a shinobi. I know it sounds obvious," the man continued when his genin gave him looks, "but it is that way for more reasons than you might imagine. The training you received at the Academy always told you to keep a clear head in a fight. It's harder than it looks."_

"_What do mean, sensei?" Ino had asked, her voice shaky._

"_Bloodlust." The whispered answer came from Kiba, surprisingly enough. Asuma gave the boy a nod._

"_Your family?" he asked the boy. Kiba nodded. "The Inuzuka clan is much more in touch with their animalistic side. The concept of bloodlust is far from foreign to them," he explained to the other two puzzled genin. "In any event, Kiba is absolutely right, though his answer is incomplete. Bloodlust is just one of the dangers that shinobi face when they enter combat."_

_The smoker lit a cigarette as he sat back on his haunches. "There's no real term for it, but as your careers continue, you'll probably notice it as you get older. It happens in the middle of fights, mostly, but a ninja can lose themselves in the battle. It's seen mostly in large scale battles, but even in the smaller ones, you might notice that the battle ends and you have no real memory of what happened. That's _extremely_ dangerous. While not always the case, it mostly happens when a shinobi completely relies on instinct during a fight."_

_He sighed heavily, taking a calming drag form the cancer stick. "You guys are probably the best team I've ever had and I don't want to scare you, but you need to know this. While instinct is all well and good, a clear mind in a fight is always better. You can adapt more quickly if your mind is sharp. Acting on instinct and impulse has gotten many a good ninja killed by not paying proper attention and just reacting."_

_Asuma's brown eyes locked with each of his genin's in turn. "Don't let it happen to you. I'd hate to have to know one of you ended up dead because you didn't think during a fight."_

Naruto shook himself to get rid of the memory. He had been lucky that the man hadn't killed him when he hadn't been thinking properly. It was a scary thought, that he could find himself so lost in a fight that he didn't even remember the kill stroke.

What might happen next time if he allowed himself to become lost in a fight? He didn't want to think about what might happen. Not only to him, but to anyone he was with at the time.

"Naruto!" Ino called. "We're getting out of here, idiot. Hurry up!"

A disturbed and thoroughly shaken Naruto returned to his team as they moved closer to Wave Country.

/~/

In the woods surrounding fire country, a yellow bird flew through the treetops on its way to Konohagakure no Sato.

Out of sight of the ninjas who had sent it, a thin needle moving at high speed removed it from its flight. Wood splintered and cracked as the projectile pinned the machine to a nearby tree.

It would stay there until the needle melted to water, a day later, and it dropped to the ground. No one was around to hear the noise.

/~/

**Author's Note: Leave a review and all that rot. I hope to have the next segment out in a week or so.**


	5. Chapter 4: The Devil in the Details

"You guys did a good job, you know. Those guys were chunin nuke-nin from Kirigakure, known as the Demon Brothers." Asuma's pride in his students was audible. "Not many rookie genin squads could have hoped to do as well when put into a combat situation involving other ninja."

The audible pride did its work in making Naruto feel good about himself. There really was nothing else like knowing that your teacher was proud of your abilities. It was probably only second to beating that same teacher into the ground. _That_ was vindication. He was pretty far from that point, though.

The group was steadily making their way to Wave Country, and Naruto could already smell the sea salt permeating the air. They must be getting close. He wouldn't deny being a little excited. He had never been outside of Konoha before becoming a ninja, and his travels had yet to take him to the sea.

Even so, the excitement that accompanied visiting new places was dampened by the circumstances surrounding it. He had no desire to be on this mission. Asuma had assured him and the team that proper reinforcements were on the way, but Naruto couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to go horribly wrong on this mission. He didn't like the idea of retreating any more than his teammates, both prideful and headstrong in their own rights, but they weren't ready to face anything of jonin caliber.

Konoha's doctrines on teamwork stated that three well coordinated genin could disable a jonin. They couldn't disable a jonin that they didn't know about, couldn't see, or was just so overwhelmingly powerful that they couldn't touch him. The blond had little doubt that the jonin they would face would confront them head on.

He glanced to his sides briefly. Neither Kiba nor Ino seemed worried in the slightest. Asuma's word was final, and they had supported this endeavor to being with. All was right in the world for them. Naruto was a little disappointed with Ino. Given her attention seemed to be on him these days, more often than not, he had hoped she would be a little more receptive of his idea. Alas, it was not to be.

He supposed that was par for the course with his fellow blond. He never really could get a read on her.

"So, how big is this bridge of yours, Tazuna-san?"

The man chuckled heartily. "It's quite the monstrosity, sensei. Some of my finest work, if I do say so myself." The man had obvious pride in his accomplishment.

Asuma continued to take drags from his cigarettes. "You didn't answer the question though. How big is it?"

"You'll be seeing it soon, jonin-san. I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise."

Asuma just rolled his eyes at the man's intransigence. He dropped back to Naruto's spot in the group, allowing Kiba and Ino to take his place. Naruto's position was always at the back of the group. He was rear support.

"It seems that I haven't satisfied your fears about this mission, Naruto," he began. He gave the blond an appraising eye.

"I can't shake this bad feeling, sensei," Naruto replied tersely. "I've had it since the Demon Brothers attacked." He had a bad feeling about the mission as a whole. It didn't help matters that natural paranoia was making him a bit shifty. He kept expecting an Akatsuki member to pop out of nowhere and grab him. Having no idea what any of them looked like wasn't helping him, either.

Having so much time to think was making him more shifty than he'd like to admit.

"You've never had doubts like this before, Naruto. You might just be shaken from your fight. I know I was when I first killed a shinobi."

There was no doubt in the boy's mind that he _was_ shaken from when he killed the chunin nuke-nin. He had lost himself fully in the fight and could barely remember the killing blow. He didn't want to become so desensitized to killing that this feeling of numbness became normal. He wouldn't readily admit it to anyone, but he was scared of the Demon Fox in his gut. The thought of becoming anything remotely close to it was utterly repulsive and terrifying. An amoral, emotionless killer was much too close for his liking.

That wasn't the problem, though. Not the only one.

"It's not that, Asuma-sensei. We're walking into a situation where we don't know what's coming!" Naruto exclaimed quietly. He didn't want to alert his other teammates to his jitters any more than he had to. "I feel like we're walking into a trap headfirst without having any sort of plan or guarantee of safety."

He was doing his best to put his sensei on guard and let him know that something was terribly wrong without giving anything away. He had always done his best to keep his knowledge of Akatsuki secret, as it was as farfetched an idea as there ever was.

Honestly, who ever heard of a group of S-class criminals targeting people like him? Aside from the Kyuubi, he was a nobody. That thought had given him pause more than once. The shady group was likely after the biju sealed inside him, and that meant nothing good for him.

Asuma raised a stunned eyebrow. His best student had never struck him as being the scared type. In retrospect, he supposed it was a good thing. It was better to be worried about your own well being than to have such unshakeable confidence in your own skills so as to walk boldly into the face of danger, at least at this point in his career. It showed that the boy knew his limits well. He couldn't take a jonin in the event that something happened to Asuma, and he knew it. The chain smoker couldn't say the same about his other two charges.

On a different note, there was little doubt that Naruto would be forced to take missions where he didn't know the potential outcome from the beginning. Mission briefings weren't always perfect, and shinobi walked into the unknown more often than not on higher level missions. As a shinobi, he would need to have the confidence to face unknown assailants and situations. He'd never make it otherwise.

"As you get older and get higher up in the ranks, Naruto, you'll be forced to take missions where you don't know the full scope of the situation. Are you going to decline these missions just because you're scared?" Asuma asked.

"But that's different!"the boy hissed. He knew he was wrong the moment the words left his mouth.

"Is it really?" Asuma asked rhetorically. "The mission changed once we knew that shinobi would be gunning for us. When the mission began, you had all the confidence of Kiba and Ino that we'd succeed. The only difference between this mission and others that you'll take in the future is that the unknown was thrust on you in the middle of this one, rather than at the beginning."

Naruto nodded absently, trying to wrap his head around the idea of not always having enough information. In reality, this wasn't so different from his situation with the Akatsuki. With the shadowy group, all he could do was train endlessly in the hopes that when they made their move, he would be strong enough to stop them. If he wasn't, there wasn't going to be much he could do about it. It was a bit depressing to think about, but it was the truth. He'd just have to get that much stronger.

The same applied to missions. If he wouldn't always know what awaited him, all he would be able to do was get better so that he'd be able to face the unknown head on. For now, he'd have to trust his team and his sensei.

"I think I understand, sensei," he answered. He gave Asuma a shaky smile. He was far from comfortable with the situation, Asuma himself probably wouldn't last very long against an S-ranker, but there was little he could do about it except be as prepared as possible.

"Good. That said, your worry shows that you know your limits. At your level, you should be worried about potentially fighting a jonin. Knowing your limits is a good thing, though you should have some more faith in your dear old sensei." Asuma lifted his head proudly. "I'm stronger than you think."

Naruto chuckled along with the jonin, most of his fears pushed to the side. That was just like him, trying to assuage the fears of his charges while simultaneously acknowledging their fears as valid. It made them feel both validated and safe at the same time.

"Are you really? I did some research on you, you know?" said Naruto with a smirk. His comfort level was back to almost normal.

"Did you really?" Asuma had little doubt that was the case. The blond was a great scavenger for information when he wanted to know something. It was a surprising but useful trait for the boy to have. "And what did this research of yours find?"

"That you're ranked somewhere between twelve and fifteen in terms of the village's strongest ninja."

Two raised eyebrows met the blonde's statement. "And how do you figure?"

Naruto cracked his neck. "Well, the Hokage ranks at the top, obviously, with the two remaining Sannin coming in after him at two and three." That was the obvious answer, though it was debatable considering the Sandaime's age and whether or not Tsunade was still a part of the villae. Asuma wondered where he had gotten the knowledge about the Sannin. They weren't the most commonly touched on subjects at the Academy.

"After them, Konoha has eight registered Elite Jonin. Both Maito Gai and Hatake Kakashi fall within that range of four through eleven, though I'm not exactly sure where. The other six spots are taken up by various ANBU personel." Naruto shrugged at Asuma's look – the man's eyebrows were threatening to take flight. How did the boy know _that_? "I couldn't find any information on them, so I assumed that their files had been classified."

Color Asuma impressed. He had no idea that his student was such an adept at information gathering. That was doubly so, considering that the information on Konoha's elite jonin was classified B-rank. It would take some serious stealth and infiltration skills to come by that information, especially as nobody in the village would willingly part with it, given who Naruto was. The boy had a future as an infiltration specialist if he was reading things right.

"Anyway, that put you outside the top eleven in the village, but you served as one of the Twelve Shinobi Guardians of the Fire Lord. While not the most prestigious position, just a colorful bodyguard really-" Asuma made a noise of offense. He took pride in his tours of duty guarding the daimyo. "- it shows that you've got some serious skill. The daimyo is picky about who guards him," Naruto finished with a shrug.

He had come by all the information in his various digs through the upper sections of the Archive when he was researching the Uchiha Clan, Maito Gai, and Asuma, when the man became his sensei. He had become pretty good at sneaking around as a result. The rest of the information had been pieced together from various, unassuming tidbits he had found in a variety of different sources. They all formed a rather cohesive whole when put together and some reasonable assumptions were made.

While Asuma was certainly impressed with his student's information gathering skills, not to mention his deductive reasoning abilities, there was a flaw. It was one that many people made when mentally "ranking" shinobi.

"I hope that you know that your rankings don't really mean that much in the grand scheme of things, Naruto." The boy looked slightly offended. "I don't mean to say that your facts are wrong, the opposite really, but aside from the Sannin and Hokage, I'd take my chances against any one of those eight Elite Jonin."

Naruto looked surprised. Asuma couldn't blame him. The rank of Elite Jonin wasn't handed out like a party favor. It took some serious skill and hard work to be acknowledged as one of the village's true elite.

"There's quite a bit that goes into a ninja fight. There are details, hidden ones that can often decide the outcome in a way that might not be expected. It's small details like how people's elements match up, a long ranged opponent versus a short ranged one, and other things like that that can change a fight."

Naruto nodded. That made sense. Unfortunately, it also renewed his worries about the mission. Their next opponent would only have to worry about killing Tazuna as an objective. How would Asuma stack up against someone when he had three genin and a civilian to worry about?

/~/

"It's huge," Ino breathed. They were currently passing through the water that separated Wave Country from Fire Country. Tazuna's monstrosity had just come into view.

Naruto had to agree with the girl. His respect for Tazuna had just gone up a notch. It didn't mean much, considering how low the man was in his esteem before, but the size of Tazuna's creation was awe inspiring. "How long did it take to build?" he asked the bridge builder.

"Nearly a year," the man answered proudly. He took great pride in his work. "According to the calculations, about one to two months remain for construction."

It was impressive to say the least, but something just didn't make sense to Naruto. "Tazuna-san, if Gatou is after your head because of this bridge, why has he waited so long to do something about it? Surely it makes more sense to nip something like this in the bud early on."

Tazuna nodded at the question. "A good point. Gatou's business relies on the fact that people fear him. He crushed Wave's spirit a long time ago; he probably didn't think that enough people would have the courage to stand against him in order to build the bridge." The ferryman's statement about being quiet due to Gatou's men patrolling suddenly made a lot more sense. It was a sobering thought that one man could so effectively crush a country.

At the same time, it was a point in Tazuna's favor that he managed to inspire enough people to get the bridge built to this extent. Naruto's respect for the man went up again. Say what you will about the man, but he and his bridge represented a hope for a whole country to rally behind.

"Why haven't you hired ninja before? You know, to deal with the Gatou problem?" Kiba asked.

It was Asuma that answered. "From the outside, Gatou's business is completely legitimate, and he undoubtedly covers his tracks well. He also has an enormous amount of clout with many feudal lords due to his money. Without the proper amount of proof, no hidden village would move directly against him for fear of repercussions from the daimyo. Wave's situation, while sad, isn't sad enough for any village to get involved. It's too minor to a Kage in the grand scheme of things."

Tazuna just nodded sadly. "We tried to get help from Kirigakure some years ago, but Gatou's company has enormous stake in the Mist's economy due to the environment and shipping. We were turned away pretty forcefully."

"I bet Gatou wasn't too happy about what you did," Naruto stated.

The bridge builder just shook his head without a word. The silence spoke volumes.

The quiet endured for the rest of the ferry ride, and the foursome plus dog disembarked on the shores of Wave Country.

"Tazuna-san, this is as far as I go. Goodbye and good luck to you!" the ferryman said with a soft salute.

Tazuna smiled at the man. "Heh, super thanks." He took the second spot in the group behind Asuma. "Let's get me home, it's not far from here."

The dense foliage surrounding the inland area of Wave Country provided good cover, Naruto surmised. _It makes a good spot for an ambush, especially given the natural mist cover_. His bad feeling had never truly abated, and it was only getting worse now that the team was in fully unknown territory. The mist certainly didn't help.

_Kami, I'm pathetic!_ He cursed himself as he kept moving along. He was twitching at just about everything. He had almost killed a fucking rabbit when he heard a rustling in the bushes.

A prickling sensation in the back of his neck had him on the ground nearly a full second before Asuma shouted, "_Get down_!"

The jonin wasn't a moment too soon as a whizzing blade tore through the air where Team Ten's heads were previously. The blade lodged itself deep into the trunk of a tree about three meters ahead of Asuma and Tazuna.

"Three green genin and their jonin? Hmph, I wonder why the Demon Brothers had any trouble at all with you guys?" a man's voice spoke. Naruto's eyes were drawn to the massive cleaver's handle, where a man was perched casually.

The man was tall, though shorter than Asuma's large form. He was bare from the waist up, and wore grey camouflage pants that fell to his heels. The sideways headband and bandages covering his mouth gave him a decidedly sinister appearance.

Dark eyes regarded Asuma. They widened briefly as they took in his whole form. "Well, that's unexpected. I thought you were just some Konoha scrub, but that sash on your waist says differently…Sarutobi Asuma. You've got quite the bounty on your head."

Asuma's trench knives were in his hands as he regarded the newcomer with trepidation. "I'm sure that thirty five million ryo would do wonders for your plans, wouldn't it, Momochi Zabuza?"

The man, revealed as Zabuza, chuckled. "You know me. I'm honored that my legend has made its way to your village of tree huggers."

Asuma stomped out his cigarette with a chuckle of his own. "Massacred a full graduating class of Kiri genin, a failed coup de tat against the Mizukage, and you're planning to have another go at it. You're widely regarded as one of the stupidest men on the continent. What's not to know?" he finished with a smirk.

Zabuza growled at the insult. "I see you've done your homework. If you have, then you'll know that I'm best there is at what I do…" He jumped from his blade to the small lake. He landed with his cleaver on his back and two half ram seals formed. "…and what I do isn't very nice."

"Ninpou: Kirigakure no Jutsu!"

_Shit_, Naruto thought as the mist got thicker, obscuring his view of Zabuza.

"Surround and protect Tazuna!" Asuma barked. "This guy's on a whole other level from the last ones. This is my fight. Naruto, hold my pack."

Naruto came to his senses as he caught the thrown supply backpack. "Manji formation!" he bit out. The three genin formed a protective triangle around Tazuna. It wasn't a moment too soon as hostile killing intent filled the air. Naruto almost choked as the feeling hit him. _Such powerful killing intent! Is this what a jonin battle is like? We're totally outclassed here_, he realized with growing dread.

His thoughts derailed when Asuma's wind chakra blew away some of the encroaching mist. "Calm down team, I'm not about to let you guys die here." The words, while meant for comfort, did little to assuage Naruto's fears. He hastily reminded himself of the discussion he had with Asuma earlier. There was nothing he could do now but fight.

He palmed two kunai.

"Eight spots…liver, lungs, spine, sub-clavicle vein, jugular vein, heart, kidneys…and the brain. Which to choose?" Zabuza's voice echoed from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. Naruto couldn't get a read on his location.

"Kiba," he hissed. "Can you smell him?"

The dog ninja shook his head. "No, the mist's interfering."

"Shit. Ino, give us genjutsu cover!" Naruto ordered.

"Too late!" Zabuza crowed from in between he genin. Naruto hadn't even sensed him move.

Wind chakra swirled around Naruto's blades, but he had no chance to move before Asuma's trench knives were imbedded blade first into Zabuza's gut. Naruto's eyes widened in jubilation before the body dissolved to water.

_Mizu Bunshin_, he thought as he rapidly retreated away from ground zero. "Sensei behind you!" he called, but it was too late.

Zabuza's cleaver tore through Asuma's body like a hot knife through butter, and the body disappeared in a plume of smoke. "Wha-?" Naruto watched as the body of Zabuza dissolved to water once more as Ino's kunai penetrated its back, her face a mask of terror, yet determined.

A clang of weapons striking snapped his head around to a different spot in the small clearing. Asuma was locked in a hold with Zabuza. His trench knives were being pushed to the limit as he was forced to stop an overhead blow from the massive blade.

Naruto hurried to his teammates. "Ino, cover us!" The girl quickly sped through hand seals and Naruto felt his senses scramble as a cloaking genjutsu covered the foursome.

Across the clearing, Asuma and Zabuza were engaged in a grapple. Asuma's trench knives didn't have the same weight of Zazuza's cleaver, but they were far more maneuverable. Asuma showcased as much when he used the nuke-nin's momentum against him and hopped around the falling zanbatou. The Konoha jonin struck out with his trench knives, but Zabuza's dexterity saved his head.

The near miss went in Asuma's favor, however, when the extended wind chakra made a thin slice into the man's face. Asuma grimaced as he saw his strike failed to blind his opponent.

The former Kiri jonin brought his blade to bear in a desperate strike, but Asuma calmly intercepted the heavy blow with both hands. A small smirk played across the jonin's face as he gained the upper hand.

Naruto experienced a swooping sensation in his gut – he would later associate it with escaping death by a hair's breadth – and realized just how far outclassed he was in this fight.

It was both startling and disheartening to realize just how far he was from his goal. He would have less than no chance in a fight like this, and neither of the combatants were S-ranked – of that, Naruto was sure. He knew that from his research. The blond gritted his teeth as he watched the battle unfold with growing despair for both his sensei and himself.

Zabuza moved to create space, but Asuma was having none of that. Naruto's eyes widened as his sensei closed the gap in less than a moment –Asuma was _fast_ – and swept the feet of the shorter Zabuza. The bandaged man used his cleaver as leverage to keep his balance intact, and struck out with a high kick to Asuma's face.

The chain smoker caught the blow, but winced in pain as a hidden blade stabbed his hand. He dropped back to survey his wound and grimaced as the blood sizzled and turned purple. _Poison_.

Zabuza used his opponent's distraction against him, and charged swiftly, his blade poised to remove Asuma's head. The jonin ducked the swipe and struck out with his wind enhanced knives. His frustration increased when the nuke-nin danced out of the way. The man was surprisingly agile.

The swordsman leapt back and unleashed a brace of three shuriken at his opponent. Asuma smirked as his trench knives found themselves spinning in the air. He sped through seals as fast as he could. "Fuuton: Shinkuu Taigyoku!" He inhaled and then expelled a great sphere of wind toward the former Mist Swordsman.

Zabuza cursed his mistake as his thrown weapons provided no shield against the sphere of wind. He dove to the side unceremoniously to avoid a direct hit, and only his reflexes saved his head. The wind whispered past Zabuza's ear as he jerked to the side, and he used his momentum to swing his zanbatou toward the Konoha jonin.

Asuma grimaced as he barely avoided the flat end of the massive blade. The poison must have been affecting his reflexes. He leapt back and stabbed his hand brutally, forcing the poison out of his system as he bled out. He knew that it had done its job, however.

Asuma palmed two kunai with explosive tags and hurled them at Zabuza. The concussive force kicked the dirt and dust into the air. He prepared to charge into the fray once more when his opponent used the cover to reinforce his earlier Kirigakure no Jutsu. Asuma cursed as he found himself back at square one.

He started as the massive blade of his assailant hurled toward him. He dove to the side to avoid being eviscerated, and rolled fast and hard to avoid a second Zabuza who had appeared out of the mist. _Water Clone!_

Asuma ducked one swipe of the massive blade and quickly found himself face to face with a second. He stepped back and feinted left before gutting one clone in a spray of water and wind. Water clones were both weak and unintelligent, having less than ten percent of the maker's chakra and ability. The second one soon fell to a sweeping combo with his knives.

The jonin glanced about hurriedly, and he used his wind chakra to clear the air around him of mist. His eyes widened as he saw Zabuza atop the small lake, sealing slowly and deliberately.

He was powerless to stop the inclement Suiton: Suiryuudan that tore through the air toward him.

A hasty Kawarimi saved his skin and reduced a log to splinters, and he shot another Shinkuu Taigyoku at the Mist Swordsman. The assassin blocked with a creative use of the Suiton: Suirou no Jutsu that wrapped around him and shielded him from the worst of the blast.

Asuma grimaced. The man wasn't coming off of the lake anytime soon, and Asuma wasn't going any closer to it than he had to. Zabuza knew that Asuma held the advantage in close combat. The massive sword the man wielded was too cumbersome to be an advantage against Asuma's maneuverable, wind enhanced trench knives. The nuke-nin was determined to keep it long range. The readily available source of water only made things easier.

Changing tactics, he sped through seals and expelled a Katon: Karyuu Endan. He grimaced at both the chakra cost and the easy dodge Zabuza executed. He needed to end this fast. His reflexes were dulled from the poison, and his chakra was quickly exhausting itself.

A plan was barely forming in his mind when he noticed Zabuza finish a seal sequence. "Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!" was the man's triumphant cry.

Asuma's eyes widened as he took to the air to avoid the crushing and swirling waves, his Fuuton nature propelling him higher than any other chakra enhanced leap.

The high level water technique burst forth from the lake and tore through the landscape, uprooting trees and topsoil.

Asuma landed on a branch next to his now exposed students, along with their client, once the water settled and began to run off.

Naruto was watching the battle blankly and Ino had her hands held in a rat seal, a look of intense concentration on her face. Tazuna looked terrified.

"Why aren't you under a cloaking genjutsu?" Asuma asked harshly.

Kiba shook his head and avoided the question. "Sensei, get ready to move."

Asuma raised two shocked eyebrows. Students didn't order their sensei. "What are you-"

"Now!" both Kiba and Ino shouted at him. He turned his eyes back to Zabuza, only to see the man flying off the water. Naruto was in his place, his right foot still extended from his kick. The boy dropped under the surface of the lake to avoid six hastily thrown shuriken from the enraged man. _Completely off balance and he _still_ almost kills me! Is this the power of a jonin?_ Naruto wondered.

Zabuza righted himself fast and prepared to unleash all hell on the smirking blond brat, but he was forced to abort as Asuma came charging in like a divine wraith. The momentary opening was all that the jonin had needed to retake the initiative. A small smirk play across Asuma's features as he realized his students' gambit had just won him the fight; though he was at a loss as to how his blond student had snuck up on Zabuza.

The size of Zabuza's sword was all that saved him from being cloven in two, as it provided much needed leverage to escape the revitalized jonin. The nuke-nin snarled as he saw that the extended Fuuton chakra had made a scratch on the surface. Zabuza backpedaled quickly to avoid the follow up slash.

Asuma Kawarimi'd with a nearby branch to appear behind Zabuza, and the bandaged man cursed as his avenue to the water was cut off. _God damn that brat!_

His raging thoughts were interrupted by a kick to his chest that sent him flying. He stuck his zanbatou to the ground to halt his flight, and winced as his arm was nearly pulled out of its socket. The Konoha jonin hit hard.

Asuma pressed his advantage hard as he unleashed another Fuuton: Shinkuu Taigokyu. The jonin snarled in triumph as it hit its mark.

Zabuza was airborne for a few silent seconds before his flight was unceremoniously brought to an end. The former Mist Swordsman slumped to the ground as his back cracked the bark on a tree.

Asuma's chakra swirled and howled as it extended itself into two three foot blades. He made a swift march to deliver the coup de grace, but halted, senses screaming, as two senbon impacted and pierced Zabuza's neck.

A young hunter-nin in a kimono dropped to Zabuza's side and checked for a pulse. He turned to regard the jonin and his charges, who had appeared next to him along with their shaken client.

"He's dead," the masked hunter said in a young voice. "I apologize for stealing your kill, but I've been tracking him for some time now with few chances. I thank you for the opportunity to finish my job."

"Hold up!" Asuma said forcefully as he approached the scene. "I want to confirm it myself." The hunter acquiesced. The jonin bent down to check the pulse, and nodded sharply when he could feel none. He stepped back. "He's all yours," he said with no small amount of suspicion and trepidation. He wasn't about to trust a foreign Hunter in hostile territory.

"Many thanks, once more," the masked hunter said as he disappeared in a swirl of mist.

Asuma dropped to one knee once the hunter had disappeared – his show of strength no longer needed. He quickly palmed and ingested a soldier pill. The fight had taken a lot out of him. A hand on his shoulder caused an almost imperceptible start. His eyes locked with Naruto's and he knew that the boy had caught his slip up.

"Sensei, are you alright?" he asked, concerned. His face was set in the grim mask that Asuma had come to expect from the blond ever since the news that their mission was more than it seemed came down. He found that he didn't like it. It didn't suit his student at all.

It was like the boy had a switch he could flip in his brain in order to put on his "serious face".

"Yeah, Naruto, I'm fine. Just a little tired." He waved off the boy's concerns. "He was tougher than I thought."

"And the poison?" Naruto asked wryly. Asuma was starting to both love and hate his student's perceptiveness. On the one hand, it was a very good trait to have as a shinobi. On the other, it was downright annoying sometimes.

"Good eyes. It's not a problem, though. Right now, we need to focus on getting Tazuna back to his house."

"Thank you, sensei," Tazuna said with a bow. "I and my family are in your debt." He was no doubt shaken from the high level ninja battle he had just witnessed. He was probably thinking that it might have been a good idea to bite the bullet and hope that the Hokage was nice enough to send a jonin squad with him. There was no telling what might be coming next for Team Ten.

_About time he realized that he owes us big for this_, Naruto thought uncharitably as he helped Asuma to his feet. Being vindicated about the whole mission did little to soothe the blonde's nerves. They were still in somewhat hostile territory; they still had Gatou to contend with; and they had no real idea of when backup would arrive, if ever.

Less than a half hour later, the group came upon a ramshackle house on the water. Naruto grimaced as he saw the house's position. They'd be lucky if they didn't encounter another water user here.

A sharp knock on the door brought a cautious and attractive woman to the door. Her fear evaporated when she saw her father and the Konoha ninja.

"Father!" the attractive woman cried. "I'm so glad you're safe."

Tazuna comforted the woman with a broad smile that Naruto hadn't thought the man capable of. "Now, now, there was nothing to worry about. Besides, these super ninjas kept me safe!"

At the mention of his escort, the woman quickly ushered the Konoha group inside. "Guys, allow me to introduce my daughter, Tsunami."

"Thank you very much for protecting my father," the woman gushed. "You have my eternal gratitude."

"It was no problem," Asuma reassured her. His genin barely withheld their snorts of derision.

As Ino ushered Asuma upstairs to rest, Naruto elbowed Kiba in the ribs. The dog ninja had been staring rather openly at their client's daughter.

"What?" Kiba questioned. "I can't enjoy a nice view? I need something easy on the eyes after the time we've had."

Naruto just shook his head at the boy's intransigence. "You're such a dog, Kiba." He shouldn't have expected the insult to hold water.

"Not just any dog, Naruto," the boy shot back. "The leader of the pack!" Akamaru barked in agreement.

Naruto sighed. Some things never changed.

/~/

Asuma sighed as he looked out the window of Tazuna's guest bedroom. It was raining in Wave Country. The jonin felt that it reflected his mood well.

He mentally went over the end of his fight with Zabuza for what must have been the hundredth time that day. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was dreadfully wrong. His suspicions were based on instinct, and they weren't pleasant to think about.

He had relied on his instinct for many things before, and it had only let him down once. Even then, his decision had had its obvious upsides, and he had made a few lifelong friends in the Guardians. He probably would have learned more had he stayed at home, however. He didn't regret his decision, he wouldn't second guess himself so long after the fact, but he realized that he had had more options than he had previously thought.

He did regret the relationship he now shared with his father. He wouldn't deny being more than a little jealous of the amicable relationship his best student seemed to keep with the Hokage. While not as close as they once were, the two maintained a solid rapport.

Thoughts of Naruto drew his gaze out the window once more, and he spied the blond boy running through the seals for the Fuuton: Renkudan on top of the nearby water. A thoroughly drenched Ino sat at the water's edge practicing her genjutsu seals. She would occasionally cast one on Naruto just to keep him alert and sharp.

The thought of his two blond students brought a small smile to Asuma's face. It had been easy to see that Naruto had had a soft spot for his fellow blond from day one. The boy wore his heart on his sleeve, though he was getting better at hiding it.

Ino, though, had been another story. It had taken some serious work on Asuma's part to debase her of the obsession she had had with Uchiha Sasuke. He had practically had to beat it out of the girl. It had taken time, but he had managed to instill the knowledge that training for training's sake was just as worthy a pursuit as chasing after the myopic Uchiha. It didn't hurt that Asuma had a rather low opinion of the boy.

The young Uchiha was perfectly willing to squander the attention and adoration of many in order to better focus on his long term goal of revenge. Myopic and antisocial, Sasuke had wasted many opportunities for camaraderie with his peers, something that would have undoubtedly helped him down the road. Hell, the only person he actively spent time with was Naruto.

A few well timed spying sessions on the Sharingan user had finally shown Ino the boy's true character, rather than the one she, and so many others thought he had. Girls would be girls, though, and Ino had started seeking the affection of what she determined to be the next best thing.

Asuma firmly approved of the girl's choice. Naruto was, rather predictably, clueless about the whole thing. He was sure that the boy had his suspicions, but he was far from an expert on male-female relations.

The jonin's thoughts drifted back to the mission once more, and he lit a cigarette. The fact that he had smoked so little in the past day or so merely confirmed the bad feeling that he had.

Running the scenario through his mind once more, he came to the same conclusion he had the past fifty or so times he thought about the whole ordeal. It wasn't nice; it wasn't pretty; but it was the most likely outcome. His soldiers would need to prepare for the worst.

A quick look outside confirmed the Kiba was back from guarding their client. The boy was harassing Naruto on the water's surface and the blond had retaliated by pushing the Inuzuka into the water, resulting in a full blown water fight between his three genin. Asuma chuckled at his team's antics. They were good kids. They would be better shinobi by the time he was through with them.

The team was assembled in the main bedroom that was being shared by the three males on the team a minute after he called them. Ino made a point to gloat about having her own room at least once every two hours, much to the boys' growing resentment.

"Will you shut it, you blond bimbo!" Kiba growled at the girl. "The only reason that you have your own room is because nobody here wants to have to deal with you more than necessary."

"Say that again, dog breath! I dare you," Ino snarled. Asuma shook his head at the blatant immaturity he was bearing witness to. Naruto wasn't helping matters by playing whatever side he happened to find more amusing at the time.

"Shut up!" the smoker bellowed around his cigarette. All chatter immediately came to a halt. Asuma _never_ yelled.

"Sensei?" Naruto ventured. The blond was distinctly unsure about the whole situation.

"If I have all of your attention," the jonin began with a pointed glare at his two rowdier students. "I have some details that need to be gone over."

"What is it now?" Ino grumbled. This mission was rapidly shaping up in ways that she both hadn't expected and hadn't wanted any part of. "Are we not getting paid?"

_Not if we're all dead_, Asuma thought morbidly. "No, Ino, we're still getting paid. The Konoha reserve bank will reimburse us until such a time when Wave can pay off its debt. This is far more serious than money."

He immediately had his genin's attention. "Is this about Zabuza?" Kiba was the one to raise the question, surprisingly enough. The boy had his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Asuma nodded grimly. "It is. I believe that Zabuza is alive." Whatever reactions he had expected, they weren't the ones he got. He had expected surprise and denial. Instead he got grim resignation.

Ino and Naruto sent their teammate a nod. Kiba took the lead. "I smelled something off about that hunter-nin when he left the clearing. I couldn't pinpoint it, but it definitely didn't smell like it was supposed to. There was no blood in the scent, something that should be common for Hunters."

Asuma was impressed, and took a moment to remind himself that the Inuzuka family heavily populated Konoha's own hunter-nin units. "A scent can be masked though, right?" he asked, more out of genuine curiosity than anything.

Kiba shook his head. "Not from an Inuzuka's nose. A scent remains for up to two months before the body's natural odor displaces it. While it is possible that the Hunter hadn't had any other missions in that time, it's unlikely. On top of that, I also smelled a few different emotions rolling off the guy." The boy shook his head. "I couldn't really tell, but they weren't emotions a hunter-nin would be feeling right after a kill."

Asuma nodded along with the boy's deductions. "I take it you informed your teammates and they helped you come up with your idea?" The three nodded. Asuma was pleased with the minor sleuthing job his team had done. It showed a growth in their analytical skills.

"That's a good deduction. Obviously, I had the same thoughts, though on a slightly different track." Asuma leaned back. "Anyway, Zabuza is alive – most likely – and he will be back. I'm nearly certain of that," the jonin postulated.

"What does that mean for us?" Naruto questioned. The boy had tensed significantly when his sensei had backed up Kiba's deduction. The mission had just reentered his comfort zone and now _this_ happened.

"Training," was the simple answer. "When he returns, he'll probably have an accomplice, and I doubt I'll be able to handle them both on my own. Our last fight showed that he was capable of going toe to toe with me, and I'm not going to be getting any stronger in such a short time."

The man regarded his students with an appraising eye. The three shifted uncomfortably in the silence. "You three, on the other hand, can do just that."

/~/

Naruto dropped back with a heavy breath; his arms close to his chest. He inhaled deeply, and then blew it out steadily. The wind swirled around his kunai again in the blink of an eye.

A flex of his leg muscles and a burst of chakra turned into a Shunshin that carried him past his assailant with a clang of metal on metal.

_To attack or defend_? he thought.

His body was carrying him toward his opponent before he knew he had made up his mind.

Asuma calmly, casually parried the strike of the kunai with his trench knives. The whirling sound of the combined Fuuton chakra rubbing together became an almost deafening whine.

A shift in his footwork put Naruto in striking position, and he punched out with his right kunai held in a reverse grip, deliberately keeping the blade close to his body.

It was blocked as easily as the last.

Naruto leaned back to avoid the retaliatory slash, and brought himself around for a low cross slash with his right blade. The strike was off balance, as Naruto wasn't used to using his right hand to strike across the body.

It was important, however, as showing your back to an opponent was tantamount to suicide.

The boy struck out with his leg at knee high, and was rewarded with a thud as it connected. His attack was aborted as a blade whistled through the space where his head had been a moment earlier.

Naruto redirected a blow at his chest with the outside of his wrist, and ducked under a second slash at head level. He switched from a reverse grip to a standard in both hands and slashed high at Asuma's head.

The jonin avoided the blow with ease, but Naruto continued his motion and spun his body around. His left blade missed the jonin by two feet. On a sudden impulse, the boy released the wind chakra from around his knife and watched in satisfaction as it continued on toward his sensei at high speed.

Asuma's eyes widened as the sharpened chakra tore toward him, and only a rapid Shunshin saved his skin.

The smoker watched in fascination as the Fuuton chakra tore into the ground where he had just stood. The earth was torn and ripped to shreds with the grass and dirt still falling to the ground. A hole the general shape of a kunai's blade was left.

Naruto stared at the mark in the ground in fascination. That technique might be useful in the future.

Instinct forced the boy to duck the slash at his head, and he grimaced as he felt a few of his hairs be sliced off. Naruto retreated swiftly from the jonin with quick steps.

Asuma was having none of that, though, and he blurred into motion toward his student.

Naruto ducked another slash at his head, but was forced to cross his arms in a block over his chest. He received a hard thrust kick for his efforts, and was sent flying into a nearby tree. His back hit the trunk hard, and he was sent crashing to the ground in a heap.

"That should teach you to never take your eyes from the objective in a fight," Asuma told the boy as he re-holstered his knives. The jonin retrieved a cigarette from his supply pouch, and lit it up with a snap of his fingers.

"I think I got the point," Naruto groaned. He sat up with a little difficulty, wincing at the bruise rapidly forming on his left arm where Asuma had kicked him. "You kick pretty hard."

The jonin shrugged his shoulders as he leaned against a tree across from his student. "You always bitch about me pulling punches in our spars; I just did what you asked."

Naruto scoffed. It was what he had asked for. It was the only way he would learn, in the end. "Maybe I didn't know what I was getting in to."

"I reckon you didn't," Asuma laughed. "There's a reason I'm a jonin."

Naruto sighed at that, his shoulders sagging. This mission was rapidly showing him his limits. First the fight with Zabuza, and now his spars with Asuma, they all reinforced the knowledge that he was far from his goal. Much too far.

"Stop that," the jonin ordered the boy. "Your moping, I mean," he continued when the boy looked confused.

"It's hard not to, knowing that your goal is so far out of reach," Naruto grumbled.

Asuma sighed. He preferred the happy Naruto from his team back in the village. Out here in hostile territory, the boy wasn't the same. "S-rank is achieved by a select few, Naruto, it's not easy to do."

The jonin sat down with a sigh. "I have an A-ranked bounty on my head-"

"Thirty five million," Naruto interrupted. His sensei smiled slightly. He was proud of the amount of money on his head.

"That's right. Even so, that places me quite a bit below any ninja who's considered S-ranked, and I like to think that I'm pretty tough in my own right."

Naruto couldn't help but agree. The fight between his Asuma and Zabuza represented a level of shinobi combat that he had no hope of surviving now. Asuma had been much stronger than he had thought, even given his sleuthing. It also put a seed of extreme doubt in his mind. If two A-ranked shinobi were so impressive, what would an S-ranked one be like.

"The thing about S-ranked ninja, Naruto," Asuma continued, "is that there is always something that sets them apart. Take my father, for example. He's known throughout the continent as the Shinobi no Kami because of his mastery over all the ninja arts, bar none. That sets him apart from even the elite jonin."

"And you?" Naruto asked. "Why aren't you like that? Surely you could do the same if you put your mind to it."

Asuma shook his head with a rueful chuckle. "If only. There are some of us that just don't have the ability. At my level, I'd have to delve into more obscure arts in order to get much stronger than I am now. That's something I'm not really willing to do."

"But why not?" Naruto asked. The thought of willfully not getting stronger just didn't compute with the boy.

"I'm nearly thirty, Naruto, and I've been in the business since I was ten. If I have my way, I'll retire in a few years. There's no reason for me to attempt to train in some obscure art just so I can retire without ever having to use it," Asuma explained. "It's not worth the time, especially as I highly doubt that I'll be coming into contact with any S-ranked ninja anytime soon."

Naruto didn't understand, but he let it slide. The gist of it was that Asuma didn't want to devote hours of time to training himself, given his age. It made sense –sort of – but the idea of it couldn't rest in Naruto's brain. Maybe they were just wired differently.

"I think I get it, sensei, but it seems weird to me." Asuma just nodded.

He didn't think that the boy would be able to really understand his need to settle down. It was a mature idea, and Naruto was too focused on his shinobi career to ever think about giving it up.

The truth was that Asuma was tired. His original reason for joining the shinobi corps was to step outside the shadow of his father. Once it had been made abundantly clear that that was never going to happen, his motivation slipped, and he had had to find new sources of drive.

He had found one in the Twelve Guardians, but that was so far in his past now that he had trouble remembering his mindset from back then.

Naruto sighed heavily. "I just feel like it's so far away," the boy muttered, more to himself than to Asuma.

The jonin kept his surprise in check, like he had done for the rest of the mission. He had never thought for a moment that his best student was so insecure about his own abilities. The boy had hidden depths that kept coming to the fore.

"You'd do well to stop dwelling on it," Asuma began. "There's not much you can change about your situation in regards to other ninja, so you can only focus on getting yourself better."

Naruto gave him a smile devoid of humor. "That's easy for you to say. You're a jonin now, and you were a chunin when you were my age. I'm just a genin."

"Will you shut up!" the jonin reprimanded the boy harshly. The rebuke surprised the moping boy. "That's exactly what I'm talking about right there. Stop comparing yourself to everyone else."

"People mature at different rates. I may have been a chunin when I was your age, but Hatake Kakashi was one when he was six. That doesn't mean that he's any better than I am." Asuma held up a hand to stop the boy's incoming protest. "Yes, he might be, but not because of how strong he was when he was your age. Some people are just naturally gifted. Others had help, me included. I had a private tutor during my Academy years teaching me the ins and outs of the profession."

Asuma locked eyes with Naruto. "You didn't have any of that, if the records are to be believed. Yet here you are. Worrying about how strong someone else is in comparison to you gets you nowhere. It might motivate you for a while, but in the end it gets so depressing that all your drive eventually gets sapped if you chose someone who's much stronger than you. It distracts you form what's important, and that's your own ability."

"You sound like you speak from experience," Naruto said in a smallish voice.

Asuma smiled ruefully. "I do. I made the same mistake you are now, but I chose my father to measure myself against. Needless to say, it soon became abundantly clear that I was never going to reach his level, at least not in the timeframe that I set for myself. He was stronger than I am now when he was fifteen; that should tell you all you need to know about how good he is."

"But he was a freak of nature!" Naruto exclaimed, not unkindly. It was meant in a flattering way.

"So was Hatake Kakashi, the Yondaime, Uchiha Itachi," Naruto tensed involuntarily at the last one. Asuma passed it off as his connection to Sasuke.

"So was I, to a certain extent. Your problem, Naruto, is that you say that you want to be S-ranked, and now you've been shown a level of fighting that you've never even dreamed of before. You're trying to measure yourself against me and Zabuza, and it's getting you nowhere."

"Your circumstances were different from theirs, and you still think that they'll serve as a decent measure for your skills." Asuma paused to let the boy try to wrap his head around the idea. "Doing that makes you lose perspective. You lose focus."

Naruto nodded hesitantly. He could see where Asuma was coming from. He _had_ been comparing himself to Asuma and Zabuza – and Itachi, to a lesser extent – and he had come up with nothing good. He hadn't had any help in getting his skills thus far, save for what he learned from Asuma, and he was pretty good for his age.

Maybe there was some truth to the jonin's words.

"If there's anything that my experience has taught me, Naruto, it's that the only way to get stronger is to focus on yourself, and what you need to get where you want to go." The jonin paused to formulate his statement. "It's about finding and breaking your upper limit."

Naruto leaned back heavily as he digested the words. Was that what made Asuma and Zabuza so strong? Was that what had made Itachi so strong that he had been able to massacre his clan single handedly?

If so, he had a new goal.

He knew that there were certain unchangeable things in the world, his childhood had taught him that much, and this mission had only reinforced that notion. His status now wasn't one of them. He could get stronger; he _would_ get stronger.

Asuma didn't matter. Zabuza didn't matter. _Sasuke_ didn't matter. All that mattered was how strong _he_ was, irrespective of all else.

He would find his upper limit. Then he would break it.

"To measure one's own capacity," Asuma concluded, sounding rather pleased with his phrasing and intruding on Naruto's thoughts.

The blond nodded, a new fire lit within him. "To measure my capacity."

That's all that mattered.

/~/


	6. Chapter 5: Strange Days

Disclaimer: Standard. I own nothing.

/~/

Mist was apparently a staple of Wave Country. So much so that after three days, Naruto thought that Kirigakure ought to be relocated. Between the rain, cold, and almost perpetual misty atmosphere, the Kiri ninjas would feel right at home.

The blond pulled his cloak about him tighter to combat the early morning chill. Fire Country was aptly named, and it wasn't for its trees. Naruto was unused to chilly temperatures during all but the winter months. Even then, that was only in the morning before it warmed considerably. It didn't help him now that he wore short sleeved clothing and shorts. He was lucky that he brought his cloak with him on a whim.

He wasn't sure how the workers could stand working in such conditions, but they all seemed perfectly adjusted to the climate. Many of them were even wearing shorts!

Naruto frowned from his elevated position in one of the nearby trees in Wave Country. Tazuna was up and alert, directing his workers in a way that Naruto wouldn't have thought capable of the drunk had he not seen it with his own eyes. The blonde's conceptions of his client were rapidly being destroyed.

He was still an ass, though, and it seemed to have rubbed off on his grandson.

"_Why do you try so hard?" The boy had tears in his eyes. _

_Naruto raised a curious head to face the eight year old. This was first the boy had spoken to the group since they had arrived days previous._

"_Excuse me?" That was Ino, collapsed in the corner after a day's training._

"_You heard me! Why do you try so damn hard when all you're gonna do is die?" Tears were freely streaming down the boy's face. "It doesn't matter how much you train, none of you are a match for Gatou's men."_

_Blue eyes found the orbs of his team members, and Naruto raised a silent eyebrow. Three head shakes met him. They didn't know what was up either._

"_No matter what claims you make or how hard you work, you're still gonna die. The weak always get killed by the strong!" the boy yelled._

_Team Ten was stunned. The boy hadn't said so much as a word for nearly a week, and suddenly he was bursting out in tears. It wasn't expected._

_Asuma glanced at Tazuna and Tsunami to see them looking downward, not even making an attempt to stop the boy's tirade. _

_Naruto leaned back in his chair, idly draping an arm around the back. "Who are you to call us weak? We've protected your grandfather so far, haven't we?" He raised an eyebrow at the boy._

_That sent the boy over the edge. He slammed his hands on the table. "You don't know a thing about us, yet you're being nosy. You're always acting up and being cheerful, but you don't know a thing about having a hard life!" The boy snorted and sent a glare at the now fuming Naruto. "I'd hate to be like you."_

"_Who're you to call us nosy, huh, shrimp?" Kiba crowed from his rest on the floor. "You're grandpa is the one who brought us into this, and we're helping him when we don't have to. Show some damn respect."_

"_You're all so stupid," the boy whispered aghast and as if they're deaths were a foregone conclusion. "Gatou is too strong for you guys. You're just gonna die like the rest of them."_

_Naruto shook his head in disbelief. "You know, kid, you grandpa's a pretty strong guy. He's standing up to Gatou. Is he going to die too?" His voice was deceptively calm._

_Inari had no answer._

"_You've got some fucking nerve coming up in here; acting like this is all some tragedy for you to star in. Your grandpa's a lying, cheating, drunk piece of crap who dragged us into this mess, but he's doing something good for your country. I thought you'd have some respect for that," Naruto's disgust dripped through his every word like venom, "but I guess I was wrong."_

"_You say you'd hate to be like us, but I'd hate to be like you. You sit here and cry all day, acting like you have some right to wallow in misery while your grandfather risks his life to help you. You disrespect him, and you disrespect us, the people who are trying to keep him alive." Naruto rose in a swift motion, towering above the terrified boy. "You're nothing but a weak little crybaby. Grow up." _

_He spit at the boy's feet before disappearing in a swirl of leaves._

Naruto really couldn't care less about the boy's respect, but he wasn't about to let the boy talk down to him about not having a hard life. His life was full of sensitive information, however, and he couldn't exactly tell the boy about the Kyuubi, so he had settled for the next best thing.

Tsunami had pulled him aside later on to apologize for her son's behavior. She had fed him some sob story about a guy named Kaiza, who Inari had thought of as a father.

It had only increased Naruto's disgust with the boy. He was not only dishonoring his grandfather, but his adopted father as well.

Naruto supposed that he may have been a bit unreasonable with respect to the boy, he was only eight and had been the subject of his very own tragic life, but he couldn't help it. Weakness was one of the few things that Naruto hated, mostly as a result of what lay ahead of him in the future, and Inari had it in spades.

He had had countless opportunities to pussy out and give up when he had been younger, but he hadn't. Even in the face of overwhelming odds in the form of a high level ninja group bent on his eventual death, he had refused to bow to fate and give up.

More than anything, Naruto couldn't help but look at Inari and see a reflection of himself. It wasn't clear, and it wasn't accurate, but it was a picture of what he could have been if he had been less resilient. Weaker.

It was disturbing how easily Naruto could see what he might have been when he looked at Inari, and he hated it. He hated it with every fiber of his being. Weakness wasn't something he abided. It would get him killed, and everything he had ever done for over four years had been to avoid that outcome.

He blinked quickly to refocus. A new man had come to the bridge, and Naruto readied a kunai in case he was hostile. A quick wrist movement and he would be dead before he knew what happened.

The man was nervous, that much Naruto could see from his position. He kept glancing to his left and right, checking for people near him, before looking over his left shoulder. Whoever he was, Naruto was sure that he was no assassin.

"Iwamoto-san!" Tazuna called from his spot looking over plans. A bottle of sake lay half drunk next to him. "What can I do for ya'?"

Naruto lowered his kunai as the man was recognized. He wasn't sure what the man's intentions were, but he obviously knew Tazuna. It didn't stop him from remaining alert, however.

The man named Iwamoto shuffled over to the bridge builder quickly.

"T-Tazuna-san," he stuttered. "Ah, I'm not quite sure what to say, but – " he glanced over his left shoulder once more, and Naruto followed his eyes.

A small shack stood off to the side of the bridge, with a clear view of where Tazuna and his friend were standing. Cerulean eyes narrowed as they attempted to pinpoint what the nervous man was looking for.

A glint of sharpened steel was all the warning Naruto had. _Archer!_

The blond was in motion before he knew what he was doing. Concentration was sharpened to a pinpoint in a split second, and Naruto exploded into Shunshin.

The man named Iwamoto went flying as Naruto barreled through him. One hand pushed Tazuna to the ground, while the other hand reached up and plucked an arrow out of the air easily. Naruto's eyes searched it for a moment, and he chucked to the water as he caught sight of the tag on it.

"Get down!" he yelled as he roughly pulled Tazuna under his body.

The arrow detonated in midair. Naruto felt the impact, but was hardly shaken. The tag had been low grade.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Iwamoto was repeating, his head tucked into his hands. The other workers had pulled him away from Tazuna hurriedly and had thrown him on the ground. "He took my family! You have to understand!" the man continued to sob. A crowd of workers had gathered around him threateningly.

Naruto tore his gaze from the man and gestured for Tazuna to stay down. "You alright?"

The drunk nodded shakily. "Y-yeah. I think so."

"Good. The rest of my team would have heard the explosion from nearby, and they'll be on their way. Stay down until they get here, I'm going after the shooter," Naruto explained quickly. This had been a one shot deal, and he had little time to catch the would-be assassin before he disappeared if the man was any good.

Tazuna nodded once, resolutely. "Okay."

Naruto glanced about, mentally doing a few hasty calculations to determine the likely escape route of the archer. Blue eyes rested on the rickety house that was adjacent to the bridge's entrance and about one hundred and fifty yards away.

The archer had been a good one to make the shot as accurate as he did. The tag would have taken care of the rest had he missed.

"Is that building abandoned?" he asked Tazuna.

The man followed his line of sight and nodded. "Yeah, it was abandoned when Gatou's men killed the family inside. No one wanted to live there."

It was perfect. With close proximity to the bridge, the archer would have had a clear shot at Tazuna. All he had needed was to know which one he was among the workers. That's where Iwamoto had come in.

Naruto sped through seals with the precise expertise of a master. He reared back and expelled a Fuuton: Renkudan at the house, watching with satisfaction as the concentrated bullet of wind blew the wooden abode to pieces.

A quick Kawarimi later, Naruto was amidst the rubble, ignoring the shouts from the nearby city streets.

Naruto turned his head about quickly, searching for a sign of the shooter. There was no sign of him, but Naruto picked up a discarded longbow that was left behind.

This was no shinobi's work; at least not the work of a good one. There wouldn't be any evidence left behind. That fact alone reassured Naruto. He could wait for his team. The man wouldn't have gotten far.

The cacophony of confusion was left behind as Naruto made his way back to the bridge.

/~/

"You're not surprised?"

Asuma shrugged. "It makes sense. Gatou's not stupid. Even if Zabuza is alive, he has to be pretty expensive to employ. Remember, Gatou's a business man, and taking a shot at Tazuna while he's more exposed makes sense from a monetary standpoint, especially if he doesn't need to use his more expensive help."

Naruto nodded in acceptance of the point. "The attack almost worked anyway. I didn't see the note until the last second."

"All the more reason to have both Kiba and Ino on the bridge at the same time. Two sets of eyes are better than one, and Akamaru can help Kiba smell a hostile long before they get within sight."

Naruto sent the man a questioning look. "You think that Gatou'll send another attack?"

Asuma shook his head in the negative. "No, I agree that this was probably a one shot deal, but there's no sense in not being prepared if he does. Kiba and Ino can complete their training there, in any event, and I'll be by to supervise for the most part."

"They're not done yet?" Naruto asked with a small laugh evident in his voice.

"You'd do well to remember that they both had to learn the water walking exercise before attempting the Shunshin," Asuma chided his smug student. "You had a leg up on them in that regard."

The jonin neglected to mention that Naruto probably had double the inherent ninjutsu talent of both his teammates, plus the chakra to burn while training longer. There was no use inflating the boy's head though. It wasn't like it wasn't big enough already in some regards.

Honestly, the boy could be humble and calculating one moment, worried about his skill in regards to someone far out of his league, and be the most arrogant, hardheaded idiot the next. It was like he had a switch that he flipped at his leisure.

It was damn annoying for the jonin.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, sensei," Naruto said. "So, what are we gonna do about this?"

"We?" Asuma questioned.

"Yeah, we. Aren't we going to do something about this Gatou guy?"

"We are doing something, Naruto. We're guarding Tazuna," Asuma deadpanned.

"You know what I mean," Naruto grunted in frustration. His sensei could be so _annoying_ at times.

Asuma just chuckled. "Calm down, Naruto, I know what you're talking about." The jonin frowned. "I wasn't planning on doing anything directly, but this attack means that Gatou's not afraid to use people besides Zabuza, and we don't' know who those people are."

Naruto nodded vigorously. "I agree, sensei. Do you think it would be a good idea to assault Gatou directly? He's our major adversary here, and with him dead, the mission is as good as done."

Asuma shook his head. "It's not a bad thought, but we've no idea how many men Gatou has on retainer. Some may even be shinobi, and the last thing we want is to charge headfirst into another trap."

It was logical, and Naruto accepted the point, though he wasn't happy about it. Preemptive striking made sense given their situation. They were stuck in hostile territory with no backup in sight, and with the looming threat of an A-ranked shinobi's imminent attack hanging over their heads.

It wasn't a good situation to be in, and Naruto felt horribly out of depth. He had never been made so aware of his limits before and he didn't like it.

"That said," Asuma began, "I wouldn't be against some reconnaissance."

"Me?" Naruto asked, slightly bewildered at being given a side mission.

Asuma shrugged. "It would have to be. Neither Kiba nor Ino have the stealth skills to manage it, and they have their training to complete anyway. I can't be too far from Tazuna in case Zabuza makes another appearance."

"So I'm expendable?" Naruto joked with a light laugh.

"You're available," Asuma countered. "And I should hope that you wouldn't have much of a problem sneaking past civilians."

Naruto leaned against the wall with a shrug. Civilians were easy pickings. He had been duping them for years now."What, exactly, would I be looking for?"

"Information about Gatou's company: logs, histories, what shinobi he's currently employing. Any information that might be sensitive." Asuma pulled out a cigarette and lit it with a snap of his lighter. "Other than that, location. Once we deal with this mess with Zabuza, I want to go after Gatou."

"I thought you didn't want to take him on directly?"

Asuma shook his head. "You misunderstood me. I don't want to walk into a trap with no information, and no idea what we might be up against. That, and Zabuza's still dangerous."

"Other than that, though…" Asuma frowned and narrowed his eyes. "…Gatou's been allowed to work unchecked for too long. He needs to be eliminated if Wave is ever going to recover."

Naruto raised an eyebrow and wrinkled his nose. "Is it a good idea to get so heavily involved? Outside the mission, Gatou's not our problem." He knew he was contradicting his earlier idea, but with preemptive assassination off the table, Gatou really _wasn't_ Team Ten's problem.

Asuma looked at him sharply, and Naruto reflexively leaned back from the man's hostile gaze.

"You'd do well to think about more than just the mission and yourself, Naruto. While we're here, helping these people should be a priority. They've been subjected to untold cruelty from one man, and we have the power to stop it. It's practically common courtesy."

Naruto just nodded while he processed the information.

"You may be right, sensei, but I still feel uneasy about this whole thing." Naruto shook his head. "We sent for backup back in Fire Country, and that was weeks ago! I don't feel comfortable here knowing that we might not have any help on the way, and that we don't actually have to be here."

Asuma just sighed. The boy's point certainly had merit. Team Ten had no responsibility here other than the protection of Tazuna, and even that could be invalidated due to Tazuna's lying about the mission.

It didn't make it the right thing, however.

"Sometimes, Naruto, it's down to the people in the world who have power to use it justly; even if it means exposing themselves to danger," Asuma lectured. "In this case, the people with power are us. It may go against common shinobi thinking, but it is our responsibility to help those less fortunate than us, if given the opportunity." The jonin locked eyes with the boy. "It's a choice between what is right, and what is easy."

Naruto averted his eyes, Asuma's idealism making him uncomfortable.

He certainly felt sympathy for the people of Wave, but he couldn't help but think that Gatou simply wasn't his team's, and Konoha's, problem. Call him jaded, but Wave had just rolled over and died when Gatou strolled in, to the best of his knowledge, and Naruto couldn't stand that. They had made their own bed by doing nothing, and Naruto was perfectly content to let them sleep in it.

It was true that Gatou had crippled their economy, but how hard was it for a country, albeit a small one, to rise up and kill one man. Hell, they could have appealed to the Sandaime. Konoha had no real stake in Gatou's affairs, and he would have listened. The old man had enough pull with just about everyone important on the continent to get Gatou to leave Wave alone.

No one fucked with Konoha when they got involved in international affairs – Naruto snorted when he realized that he was having a "proud citizen of Konoha" moment – and especially in civilian matters. As long as it didn't directly hurt another of the Big Five, and sometimes even when it did, no one really bothered with it. They might make a bit of a stink, but they got out of the way eventually.

One emissary from the Daimyo to the Hokage and Gatou would have been out of Wave or dead, with his empire divided for Konoha's use.

But no, Wave had rolled over and died, letting one rich asshole completely dominate them. _It's disgusting_, Naruto thought.

In his own way, he was a go getter, a proactive person and a man of action. He had proved that through his training. Wave's attitude toward Gatou went against everything he stood for. Seeing a country of people so totally submit to one man's tyranny, especially when he wasn't a shinobi, was as disgusting to him as Inari's attitude toward his life.

People like that might as well be dead, in the blonde's esteemed opinion, though he would never share that view with anyone, let alone his sensei. Such an attitude was frowned upon in Konoha, despite being a shinobi village, and he was sure that it wouldn't help his standing with anyone there.

He honestly didn't know why he stuck around the village. The people hated him, he lived at the grace of the Sandaime, something that was sure to expire as soon as the old man, and he had been treated like shit until he had bothered to shut up and prove he had some skills. He was still treated like shit sometimes, though not as openly.

It was his home though, and it was only one he had at present. _What a sad state of affairs_.

"…suggest that you keep your investigations until night," Asuma spoke. "It never hurts to be careful, and I'd hate to lose my best student because he made a rookie mistake against a few samurai."

Naruto shook his head with a small chuckle, trying to dispel the tension in the room. "I thought you knew me better than that, sensei."

The jonin snorted. "Hmph. Maybe so, but things can from manageable to you being dead in an instant if someone like Zabuza detects you. You might be strong for a genin of your age, but Zabuza is way out of your league. If you come anywhere near him, get out immediately," he said, dead serious.

Naruto nodded once, sharply, at the order. There was never any question that he would get the hell out of any situation where Zabuza was involved. He knew his limits, and they were far from Zabuza's, even while the man was injured.

There was also that hunter-nin to worry about.

"Of course, sensei," he reassured the man. He would follow orders, even if he didn't like his situation here. There wasn't all that much he could do about it at present, so he would just do his part to make sure his team got out of this debacle in one piece.

"I'll be in touch," he said on his way out the door.

Asuma just gave him a small nod before turning to the window. He stared out over the water with a melancholic expression. He had a bad feeling.

/~/

The rain made for a steady beat on Naruto's kasa. It slid off in waves as the water steadily pounded to the ground.

He would have to remember to thank Tazuna for the traditional bamboo hat. It served the same purpose as a hooded cloak, while looking far less conspicuous. The kasa was commonly worn in these parts.

He still thought he looked stupid. So did his team, if the combined jeering from Ino and Kiba he got on his way past them was any indication.

He contented himself with the knowledge that it was a pragmatic choice of attire. At least it kept him dry.

The hat was the last thing on the blonde's mind as he wove through the streets of Wave Country's western most city. Maintaining a low profile in the streets was more difficult than he had originally thought.

He was used to the busy streets of Konoha, filled with people. The city's streets he currently walked were nearly empty, the general populace in their rickety shops, hoping for the occasional customer. He had graced a few with his patronage, and had been rewarded by gracious smiles and some damn good yakitori.

It had been almost as good as ramen.

The few smiles didn't make up for the vast majority of depressed people, and they certainly didn't stop him from planting his foot in the face of the dumbass who had tried to pickpocket him. He reminded himself that he was disguised here, and the man hadn't just been so retarded as to try to pickpocket a known shinobi. He just got unlucky with his mark.

It didn't help that the man was horrible at pick pocketing people. Naruto had more than a little experience in the fine art, and the man's technique had been horrendous. It had nearly offended the blonde's sensibilities.

In any event, the incident hadn't helped with his cover. News spread fast in the city, and most of the populace seemed to be giving him a wide berth. That was fine, though.

He wasn't trying to be overt in his intentions, but he was fine with a wide berth. It gave him more room to maneuver if it became necessary.

Having scrounged for necessities for much of his young life in Konoha, Naruto knew the advantages of both being in a crown and out of one.

He idly fingered the leather bound book in his pocket as he turned on to a side street. Lined with bars and cheap prostitutes on the street corner, it was the unofficial "Red Lights District" of the city, and one of the parts that Gatou had the most influence over. His thugs hung out here regularly.

That was perfect for Naruto.

He moved toward the most packed bar. It was only five in the evening, but the establishment was booming with noise. He stopped in front of the bouncer.

"Can I help you, kid?" the man asked, his hand drifting to his katana in what should serve as a threatening gesture. His partner wandered over to back him up.

Naruto wasn't impressed.

"Yes, actually," he began pleasantly. His blue eyes bored into the man's as he stepped closer. "I was wondering if you could-"

He cut off as he stepped on the man's foot, hard. The bounder screamed as his toes were crushed, and Naruto's used his distraction to lay one in his gut. A single chop to the neck was likely overkill, but one could never be too careful.

The second bouncer had his wits about him in a moment, and slashed out at Naruto with his katana. Naruto avoided the swipe casually, and used the outside of his right arm to push the blade away from him.

Two quick steps put him inside the man's guard, and a strong uppercut laid the second bouncer out.

"Hey!" was the call from the bar as people began to notice what was happening. Naruto ignored them in favor of looping two sets of arms over his shoulder and disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

He left a wink for the customers who had moved toward him when he knocked out the guards. The group was stunned.

He reappeared with his luggage on top of the highest building in the city.

His target for the day was an archer. He wasn't about to give him a good shot if the man came looking for him.

Naruto dropped the bouncers to the ground unceremoniously, and surveyed the city as the two men groaned in pain.

The view really was quite nice from up here. The sea and the sunset made for a majestic sight.

"So," Naruto began after he was pretty sure the men had regained some semblance of coherency. "How long have you two been working here?" he asked pleasantly. He wasn't quite sure how to start something like this, it was his first interrogation, but giving the men some time to give up information willingly might be a good idea.

It would also assuage his conscience later if he had to resort to some more…extreme methods.

The men just groaned some more. Naruto turned to regard his prisoners, and raised an eyebrow at the baleful look one man sent him. The other was looking at him in fear.

"The sooner you cooperate, the sooner this is all over," Naruto said, his voice now flat. He wasn't screwing around here. He needed information from these guys, and he would get it.

Being stationed at the entrance to one of the most popular bars frequented by Gatou's men, these men learned a lot about the organization simply by standing around and listening. They could probably identify a large number of Gatou's thugs and associates just from sight alone. That didn't even begin to cover what they likely overheard on a daily basis.

"I'm not gonna tell you shit, kid," the first man grunted as he stood up. Naruto hadn't bothered to bind either of them. The bouncer reached behind him in what was supposed to be a subtle gesture, and Naruto smirked as the man's face went slack.

"I'm a trained shinobi, sir. You're going to talk to me one way or the other." The blond gave a feral grin as he brandished the formerly hidden knife he had lifted from the bouncer. "Your cooperation will just make it go faster."

He could see the man thinking about it. Not having a weapon on him had taken the man out of his comfort zone. He had no idea what he was dealing with. For all the bouncer knew, Naruto could have been a trained interrogator.

A quick flick of Naruto's fingers and the blade was buried handle deep in the second bouncer's right shoulder. The screams were oddly satisfying as the man dropped to the floor.

His partner's eyes kept flickering back and forth between Naruto and himself, unsure of what to do.

"That's just a taste of what might happen if you don't spill." Naruto walked over to the kneeling man and unceremoniously yanked the knife back out. He was inwardly surprised that the blade had penetrated that deep. It wasn't very sharp.

"If you _do_, however, that won't need to happen again," he continued over the howls. He contained his sneer for the man's reaction by reminding himself that this man wasn't a trained shinobi. Hell, he wasn't a trained anything.

Naruto casually moved back to the building's edge, surveying the sea with an appraising eye. It really was quite the sight for a person not accustomed to its majestic beauty. He'd have to make a trip back at some point.

"So, what can you tell me about Gatou's men?" Naruto asked, his pleasant demeanor making a comeback despite the howls of pain.

The uninjured bouncer – relatively speaking – continued to look apprehensive, his eyes settling on his screaming partner in shock. Naruto sighed; he wasn't cut out for this sort of stuff. He'd do what was necessary, though.

A deft flick of the fingers sent the knife sailing into the injured man's other arm, and the screams doubled in intensity.

The second bouncer's attention snapped to Naruto, his eyes wide with fear.

"I'm not dicking around up here. Tell me what I want to know, and nothing's gonna happen to you," he delivered in his best menacing voice. "If not-" he gestured to the screaming man. "-I'll start on you."

The man squealed like a pig, and Naruto did his best to contain his satisfaction amidst the slowly dying screams of pain.

/~/

"Kawasaki Gendo," Naruto began, pointing to a picture of a young man posted up on the wall. "Nineteen years old, genin. Former Ame-nin, and classified as a D-ranked nuke-nin. No special abilities of note."

"He's an archer, though," Asuma clarified from his position against the wall. He absently puffed on a cigarette.

"Yes, and a crafty one if his trick with the explosive tag is any example."

Team Ten had transformed the attic, small though it was, of Tazuna's house into a form of situation room. Naruto had his information that he retrieved from the two bouncers posted up on the walls. Various arrows and lines connected names to the few faces that they had access to.

The two bouncers had been a veritable gold mine of information regarding Gatou's network of enforcers. Everything from names, likely hang out spots, to where many of them lived and collected their pay was almost common knowledge to the two men.

It was amazing what someone could learn in a bar.

Among the most valuable of the information gleaned from the two bouncers were the identities of the few people who made the most on Gatou's payroll. Aside from Zabuza, of course, who remained an elusive figure to the average thugs.

Thanks to Asuma's super handy Bingo Book, they were able to match all four men to faces of missing-nin. None were over C-ranked, and the team had already dealt with two of them. The Demon Brothers.

That left Kawasaki Gendo, the Ame archer who had taken a pot shot at Tazuna when Naruto had been on duty, and Funeno Futaba, a C-ranked Iwa nuke-nin accused of the murder of his own comrades.

"That's great and all, but why exactly are we dealing with this?" Kiba asked in a whine. He had just completed the Shunshin earlier in the day, and, instead of getting some quality time to play with Akamaru, he had to sit through some briefing that he had no idea about. On top of that, Naruto apparently had had some super secret mission that he hadn't known about.

Now that just wasn't _fair_.

Naruto sighed and made to explain the situation, one that Asuma had just barely glanced over, preferring to leave it to him, but was cut off by Ino.

"Baka!" she snarled, cuffing Kiba on the head. "Asuma-sensei and Naruto-kun are getting to that."

"Kami, keep your hands to yourself you degenerate harpy! I was just asking a question!"

Ino glared viciously at Kiba for his comment, but refrained from further hitting after a meaningful glance from Asuma.

"Thanks, Ino, but that wasn't really necessary," Naruto started. Despite his amusement and exasperation with the situation, there was no need for Kiba to get hit over it. "Anyway, Kawasaki here, along with Funeno, serve as two of Gatou's top enforcers. They're also the only other shinobi he has on his payroll, aside from Zabuza and that Hunter-nin guy."

"The idea," Asuma took over for the blond, "is to mount an operation to flush out and eliminate the two. We don't need them interfering in any future confrontation that we might have with Zabuza."

"While we're at it, why don't we go for the kill on Zabuza too?" Ino asked, perplexed. "If we're looking for some preemptive striking, why not hit the big guy?"

Asuma took a drag from his cigarette. "As I've already explained to Naruto, Zabuza is far too dangerous at present to mount a full assault against without knowing exactly what we're getting in to. He's already proved that he can pretty much go toe to toe with me, and he'll have backup this time."

"I couldn't get any info on his whereabouts anyway," Naruto grumbled. He wasn't pleased with not being able to get any information on the Kirigakure no Kijin. "No one around here really knows about him."

"So, what, we just make up an attack plan for these two guys?" Kiba asked.

"Yep," was Asuma's answer.

"And you won't be helping us?" Ino questioned dubiously.

"Nope."

"So," Naruto began, "Instead of dealing with two nuke-nin who would be child's play to you, you're having us do it."

"That about covers it."

"Why?" That was Ino.

Asuma took a seat in a nearby chair with a sigh. "There's going to be a time when you three will be promoted to chunin and will be taking your own missions. Given your skills and potential, I have reason to believe that that time is sooner, rather than later. That means that you three have to be prepared to deal with threats like these two men."

"When that happens, I won't be around to be there as a safety net in case something goes pear shaped. You'll be leading your own missions with your own teams, and you'll be responsible for them." Asuma took one final drag before chucking the cigarette out the open window. "Experience with the unknown isn't something many talented genin get to face, but it's necessary for their futures. Putting you three in a situation like this, with enemies who aren't particularly strong and with me as an indirect supervisor, simulates a situation that you'll likely be in for the rest of your lives."

The three genin exchanged looks, each conveying their understanding of what their sensei was doing. It would help them down the road, but it didn't mean they had to enjoy putting their lives on the line.

"It's best to get it out of the way now, rather than wait for the mission to really mean something down the road, and you to be inexperienced," Asuma finished seriously.

"I think…we understand, sensei," Kiba ventured.

"The difference between knowledge and wisdom is experience," Naruto quoted from an old ninja code.

As knowledgeable and well prepared as they were, Asuma was right in saying that they were inexperienced in terms of being actual ninja. That type of experience could be the difference in a fight or mission down the road. Without experience, they wouldn't be able to anticipate or react properly to threats that may reveal themselves, no matter how well trained they might be.

"Very good, Naruto," Asuma commended. "That quote is something to keep in mind for the rest of your shinobi careers."

Kiba got back into the thick of the planning. "You said you would be an indirect supervisor?" he asked.

"You'll have a Kage Bunshin of mine watching over you in case something goes south. If anything happens, it should be able to buy you the time needed to escape, if not outright kill the target. Otherwise, I need to be at the bridge with Tazuna-san."

Kiba nodded and Akamaru yipped.

"Well, I'll leave the planning to you three," Asuma said as he made his way out of the room. "Just be sure to run it by me before you guys start."

"Yes, sensei," the three genin chorused.

The door shut behind him with a click.

"You think he's just being lazy with having us do all the work for this one?" Ino asked her male teammates.

Naruto and Kiba exchanged smirks. "Definitely."

"Lazy bastard. It was a good speech though."

"Yeah, yeah, Ino," Kiba waved her off. "How're we gonna handle this one? I don't know about you guys, but me and Akamaru have been itching for some real action!"

Ino smirked in agreement while Naruto gave a soft smile and a laugh. "I've had about enough action for one mission."

"Bah! Don't be such a pansy, Naruto!" Ino argued. "And what's this about some super secret recon mission that we weren't included in?" she asked rather menacingly. Kiba growled in agreement.

Naruto palmed his forehead. He knew that they were going to give him hell for that. "It was just a little information gathering. Nothing serious. It was pretty boring actually."

"As if, Naruto!" Kiba snarled. "Tazuna said there were rumors of two of Gatou's thugs getting stuck up on some roof in the city and having the crap beaten out of them. Anything to do with that?"

Naruto just shook his head and shrugged. "Maybe. Can we just focus on the mission here?" he asked desperately.

Kiba 'hmph'd', but the severe expression on his face melted. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just bring us along next time."

"Might I remind you that you were training?" Naruto asked smarmily. "I was under the impression you were still struggling with the Shunshin."

Ino interrupted the squabble as Kiba made to retort. "Hey idiots, we have a mission to plan! We can deal with Naruto's side projects later." She sent a vicious smirk at Naruto, who now looked a little apprehensive as well as incredulous at the change of attitude. He didn't want to be on Ino's bad side.

He regained his composure quickly. "Absolutely, Ino-taichou!" he snapped a mocking salute that she couldn't help but laugh at.

"So," she began after her giggles died down. "Let's get down to business. You said these two meet up sometimes?"

Naruto nodded and Ino's eyes gleamed.

"Is that so…" she trailed off with a smirk.

Naruto and Kiba couldn't help but grin back as Ino described her plan.

/~/

The boy removed his kasa as he stepped inside the high end apartment complex. The city on the western edge of Wave Country had once been quite prosperous. The complex Naruto had just entered was a remnant of Wave's brighter days.

The days before Gatou put a vice grip on the country's economy.

Crisp, air conditioned air met Naruto's face, and the boy idly traced the places where his whisker marks usually stood out. It was lucky that Ino still carried a small makeup kit with her on missions.

_Girls will be girls_, Naruto thought fondly as he passed the pretty receptionist and tossed her his best "charming" smile. He wouldn't need her help to find the rooms he was looking for, but making a good impression was never a bad idea.

The blond Yamanaka had left her Academy misconceptions behind, for the most part, but she still wanted to be able to look pretty if the occasion called for it. Naruto thought that she looked plenty pretty enough even without makeup, though he would never admit it to his fellow blond.

It would only serve to increase the girl's already unbearable teasing. _That_ was something that Naruto could definitely do without.

"Hold that, please," he called to a girl who had just entered the elevator. A plain looking brunette smiled at him as he darted inside the doors as they closed. "Thanks."

"No problem," she said. She seemed nice enough for Naruto's tastes. It was a far cry from the treatment he received back home.

Not for the first time did the blond boy think about what life might be like outside of Konoha. It certainly had its appeals. The general treatment was only one part.

"I've been going up and down all day," the girl said, making small talk.

"Really?" Naruto asked, trying to sound interested. _Live the role_, he reminded himself. "What for?"

"Oh, I run errands for a few of the tenants here."

Naruto shrugged slightly. "Sounds…well, I don't want to say boring…"

The brunette giggled appreciatively. "No, no, it is! Some of the tenants have the most _mundane _errands that need running. One of them _constantly_ needs his clothes cleaned."

Naruto chuckled, appreciating the small blush that moved up on the girl's cheeks as he brushed against her slightly. No one had ever accused him of being ugly.

"I can only imagine why."

The girl shrugged slightly. "Oh, I don't know, but half of the time I think the man just needs his things dried. They're always _soaked_. I mean, I know we're next to the sea, but the amount of water he gets into his clothes is just ridiculous. You'd think he played with water all day!"

"Maybe he's a fisherman," Naruto suggested as the girl stepped out of the elevator. They were going to the same floor.

"No, I don't think so," the brunette argued. "Most fishermen aren't paid nearly enough to rent one of these apartments. That and he's out at odd hours. I don't even want to think about all the times I've been called at my parent's house to pick something up from the docks for him."

"Maybe he works for the shipping company that's based out of here, Gatou Corporation?" Naruto inquired politely.

The girl nodded, almost melancholically as she strolled down the hallway, Naruto in tow. "I think so. A lot of the tenants in the building do. I'm not quite sure what they do though. The apartments cost too much for regular shipping hands, but some of the men are so _big_ that I can't think of anything else they could do."

Naruto hummed thoughtfully as the duo stopped outside one of the rooms. The girl knocked three times.

The door was answered by a youngish looking man dressed in a loose t-shirt and black pants. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the hand hidden behind the man's back. It almost certainly held a knife.

"Ah, Ami," he addressed the brunette. "You're here for the laundry?"

"Of course Kawasaki-sama. It's the usual pick-up time, isn't it?"

The man looked thoughtful for a moment before his eyes lit up in remembrance. "Ah, so it is. I see you've brought a friend to help you." He gestured to Naruto.

"How do you do, Kawasaki-sama? My name is Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto introduced himself.

"Uzumaki…that name sounds familiar. I wonder," the man trailed off in thought.

"Gendo!" a coarse voice yelled from inside the apartment. "What's keeping you? We have business to discuss."

"I'll just be a minute!" Gendo called back. "Now, where were we?"

"The laundry, Kawasaki-sama?" Ami prompted.

"Yes! That," he turned to enter the apartment, no doubt to gather his laundry.

Naruto moved to step in behind him, but Ami blocked his way, and he ended up pushing the girl into the retreating man.

Metal flashed briefly in the light of the room before it was concealed once more.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Kawasaki-sama!" the girl apologized as Gendo's body hit the floor.

Naruto felt a brief surge of satisfaction before the body burst into water. He cursed explosively as the floor was soaked and his reflexes kicked in to high gear.

"Move!" he commanded the girl in front of him as he pushed her further into the apartment. It wasn't a moment too soon as the space they had occupied a moment before was peppered with shuriken.

"Motherfucker!" Ino cursed as she dropped her cloaking genjutsu, her impersonation of the local girl finished, and dove behind a nearby bookcase; the brunette was no longer in existence, having been replaced by Ino in full combat gear, tanto in hand.

Naruto rolled right the second he had secured Ino, and brought twin kunai up to block an overhead slash of a blunted tanto. The boy locked eyes with Team Ten's second target for the day: Funeno Futaba.

"Contact Kiba!" Naruto shouted back to his teammate. The dog ninja had to know that Kawasaki was making a run for it.

In his haste to order his teammate, Naruto ignored his quarry, and the former Iwa ninja used his free hand to land a solid cross punch on Naruto's face. The blond boy was sent spiraling into the glass window looking out at an adjacent building.

The reflection of his target made to stab Naruto, and the boy dove to the left, watching as the blunted blade broke through the glass with ease. He was glad he moved.

Shifting into a defensive stance, Naruto readied his twin kunai. The Iwa nuke-nin came high with his slash, and Naruto blocked with his left kunai. His arm shook from the weight of the blow, but he endured, striking out with his right blade.

The knife was halted by the man's hand, and the ninja made to throw Naruto.

The blond avoided the inevitable by stepping inside the man's guard, throwing off his sense of balance, and kneeing the larger man in the gut brutally. The blow succeeded in knocking the wind out of the man, and he stumbled backwards.

Naruto made to end the fight then and there, but was halted by a hastily thrown kunai at point blank range. Only his reflexes saved his head, and Naruto grimaced as the blade dug into his left shoulder painfully.

_Where the _fuck_ is Ino?_ he screamed mentally.

The lapse allowed for the nuke-nin to regain his bearings, and he struck out with an open palm to Ino's neck.

The genin stumbled back in pain, and was powerless to stop the follow up thrust kick to his stomach that sent him crashing into a wall.

Futaba grabbed his tanto to deliver the coup de grace, but was forced to abort the strike as Ino reasserted herself in the fight. _About damn time_, Naruto groused internally as he regained his bearings.

A quick stab to the man's right shoulder had him screaming in pain, but Ino couldn't do much more as she was brutally slammed into a glass table via two elbows to the face and a thrust kick when the man didn't bother to turn around to face her.

The interruption had allowed Naruto to reclaim his breath, however, and he kicked out from his prone position. The kick knocked the man to the floor, and gave Naruto the time to quickly stand, flipping himself to his feet from his hands.

It wasn't a moment too soon as he leapt over a sweep of his legs and engaged the man in a hasty taijutsu exchange.

Naruto's taijutsu was probably better than the man's, but the difference in strength and the confined space limited Naruto's ability to land decent blow on the Iwa nuke-nin, and he soon had his arm caught in a grapple.

The man used his superior strength to grab Naruto by the collar and slam him into a glass cabinet before pushing him back into the wall.

Naruto grunted as glass shards penetrated his skin, and braced himself with his arms as he hit a doorframe. He grabbed hold like it was a lifeline, and sent a low thrust kick at the man's left knee. It connected solidly, and Naruto regained the initiative as he swept the nuke-nin's legs as the man struck out with a desperate punch. It succeeded in distracting Naruto for one precious second.

Futaba recovered quickly, and landed a heavy kick to Naruto's stomach that had the boy hunched over in pain. An elbow to the back of the head sent the blond boy to the ground.

Naruto rolled out of the way of the man's attempt to stomp on him, and grabbed a thick book from nearby. It wasn't a moment too soon, as the man had picked up a discarded metal table leg and swung it toward Naruto's head.

The book absorbed the first blow, and Naruto rolled right to avoid the second as he kicked at Futaba's legs. The kick pushed the man back enough for Naruto to stand, and the boy sent a wicked cross punch across the man's face before he slammed the book into the man's foot.

"Argh!" the man bit out as the heavy tome nearly broke his foot.

Naruto pressed his advantage by thrusting the tome into the man's neck and pushing him back into a glass cabinet. He snarled in satisfaction as the man was forced to drop the table leg.

Naruto slammed his hand into the book, pushing it harder against the nuke-nin's neck, before rotating it and using it to deliver a vicious blow to the man's face.

Two solid haymakers sent the man stumbling to the wall, where Naruto pinned him by the neck. The boy ducked swiftly to avoid a desperate punch to the face, and caught his opponent in the stomach with a powerful uppercut.

Naruto used all his body weight to spin the man round and throw him to the floor of the apartment, but found himself airborne when the man kicked out with both legs and caught him in the chest.

The nuke-nin flipped to his feet deftly and picked up his old table leg before he stumbled, once, glancing down at a blade sticking out of him in shock. He fell to his knees with a look of shock etched on his face, blood pouring from a gaping wound in his neck.

Ino withdrew her tanto from the man's neck, breathing heavily and looking panicked. Blood spurted from the wound and the blond girl stumbled backwards as she took in the sight of her kill. The tanto fell to the ground with a sharp clang.

"You couldn't have done that earlier?" Naruto grumbled as he gingerly rose to his feet, having already brushed off the man's rather gruesome death. It was him or them. He clutched his chest in pain as he surveyed the damage done to the apartment. His eyes found Ino's shocked sea foam green orbs staring down at the dead man.

"Hey," he said gently as he approached the girl. "You alright?" He laid his hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture.

The touch seemed to break the girl from whatever stupor she was in, and she locked eyes with Naruto. "Y-yeah. Just shaken up a bit."

Naruto nodded. "Didn't quite go as planned, but it worked out in the end." His eyes found the bleeding body on the floor and he grimaced. He would no doubt have the image etched into his memory. The only thing keeping him from collapsing right now was the leftover adrenaline from the fight.

He had no doubt that he would be freaking out right now if it were under normal circumstances. He had made kills before, even on this mission, but he still wasn't used to the idea. It didn't matter that he hadn't been the one to actually make the kill this time; the whole experience was shocking enough.

Ino leaned against him gingerly as her breathing stabilized. "Yeah, it did," she breathed. She was still staring at the cooling corpse in a muted sort of shock. "What happened to the other guy?"

"Kiba should have gotten him if he left the building." Naruto pressed a finger to his ear, where his radio was. "Kiba, what's your status?"

The sound of crackling came over the com link. "S'all good Naruto! Me and Akamaru got him," Kiba boasted.

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief as the tension rapidly left his body. "Good to hear. Where are you guys?"

"Just across the street from you guys. We chased the fucker to the roof top before we got the drop on him."

Naruto glanced out the shattered window to see a dark form waving at him from atop the closest building. "He still alive?"

"Yeah," came the dog ninja's reply. Akamaru yipped in the background.

"Good. Bag him and tag him. We'll let Asuma talk to him when we get back."

"Copy that. You guys all right over there?" Kiba questioned, concern marring his voice.

Naruto sighed and glanced about the ruined apartment. He was more than a little surprised to find that Ino had somehow made her way into his arms in a comforting hug. "Yeah, we're fine. We'll meet you back at Tazuna's."

"See you guys there."

Naruto glanced at the girl in his arms with confusion and a little trepidation. He wasn't used to such contact, and it made him a little nervous. He didn't particularly feel like pulling away though.

"Ino?"

"Yeah?" came the muffled reply. Her face was buried in his shoulder.

"You sure you're all right?"

She picked her head out of its resting place and locked eyes with him for a moment. She looked away just as quickly. "Yeah, it's just that…it happened so fast. I couldn't do anything and you were getting hurt and-"

"Ino," Naruto shushed her. "It's all right. I'm fine. We got the job done."

She slapped him on the chest. "Idiot, I don't care about the mission! You almost died!"

Naruto sighed heavily, realizing just how close to death he had come in the fight. He had a long way to go if he wanted to go toe to toe with S-ranked monsters.

"Maybe, but you bailed me out when it mattered. That's all that matters now," he comforted somewhat uneasily. He wasn't used to doing this at all.

The blond girl just buried her head back in his shoulder and squeezed him.

Naruto smiled gently as his heart fluttered at the notion that Ino actually cared about him. Their teasing was all in good fun, but realizing that he had people that genuinely cared about him made him happier than he had been in a long time.

It only helped that it was Ino, of all people.

"Hold on," he said gently as he channeled chakra. The girl gripped him even tighter as he made a single hand seal and let the Shunshin carry them.

/~/

**AN: Well, there's that. Only two more chapters left in the Wave Arc and, providing this fic hasn't been killed, it's then back to Konoha. For all those worrying about the originality of my fic, what with the Wave arc actually taking place, fear not, plot twists are coming. I'm doing my best not to just make this a canon rehash at this point, but let me know if I am. Rest assured, this story will enter grounds that I don't think anyone will be expecting a little ways down the road, though I could be wrong.**

**To all those who reviewed thus far, thanks for the support and keep it up. Next update is nearly done, and the chapter after is halfway written.**

**Peace out,**

**Pro  
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	7. Chapter 6: Hell Above Water

Disclaimer: I own Naruto.

/~/

A light, one mile warm up run was finished in four minutes flat. Naruto took a deep breath, not that he needed it, of fresh, sea air. The boy allowed his eyes to close contentedly for a few moments.

The slightly more haggard breathing of his training partner for the day filled his ears and brought a smile to his face. It was good to know that he was still the best. Ino was rapidly catching him, however. He would have to do something about that.

A solid morning of training was just what the doctor ordered. Doubly so after the "mission" he and his teammates had run two days previous.

Asuma had been pleased with the result, though he meticulously picked apart their execution of the plan. Naruto was the first to concede that mistakes had been made, but given what they had to work with, he thought that he, Kiba, and Ino had managed rather well.

It had been their first true assassination mission, after all. He might have been biased, but he thought they did a pretty bang up job for an inexperienced team of genin.

There had been a few hiccups, but the outcome had been exactly as planned. The more dangerous of the two, Futaba, had been dealt with, while the weaker of the two had been brought in for "questioning" by Asuma. Naruto hadn't seen the man in a day, but given Asuma's cheerful mood, he had been a wealth of information.

By Asuma's estimate, Zabuza should be recovered enough to make his move within the next two days. Once they were finished with him, they would move on Gatou.

Naruto was still unsure about the whole ordeal, he didn't particularly want to get himself involved in what might turn into a civil war if handled the wrong way by the people of Wave. It seemed like something more suited for more experienced ninja.

Just killing Gatou, while possibly stopping the problems that Wave had, could throw the country into chaos. Gatou might have ruled with an iron fist, but he still ruled. Wave had laws, and they were followed for fear of retaliation.

It wasn't a good or pleasant system, but it kept people in line. If that was removed, there was no telling what might happen. Wave hadn't been governed by its people in years, and Naruto hesitated in saying that they would just go back to business as usual once Gatou was dead. A poor handling of Gatou and the immediate aftermath could lead Wave into a period of chaos.

He shook his head as he moved through some light stretches. That wasn't his, or his team's, problem.

He banished all thought about the mission from his mind as he finished stretching his chest muscles. Gai had impressed on him the importance of proper stretching and rest at a young age. Naruto followed what he man said to the letter. He had also managed to impress that same notion on his partner for the day. He had no want to be injured, especially on a mission like this one, and having an injured teammate would just be too troublesome to deal with, to quote Nara Shikamaru.

Ino was developing nicely, he noted from his peripheral vision as he watched the girl cross and uncross her arms in a simple exercise.

Stretching had its benefits, and he was in puberty. That was all the excuse he felt he needed, and it wasn't like any straight male in his graduating class would dispute Ino's attractiveness.

He dropped to the forest floor and began a sequence of pushups. At fifty he would stop and rest for thirty seconds, before doing fifty more. He would do that in increments of five, and then move to his abs.

General strength was important for a ninja, and there was no better way to go about getting it than through pushups, pull-ups, and sit-ups. They were perfect for Naruto, who was still young and developing. They allowed for his body weight to work against him while not straining it past its limit.

He had moved toward more general strength when he discarded his weight set. They focused too much on the legs and arms, and would eventually lock him into a rigid taijutsu style based on bulk. He had been moving along that path almost subconsciously, by training with Gai and Lee on a regular basis, and he needed to get off that track.

It wasn't that it was bad, but it had its disadvantages.

His fight with the missing-nin had shown him that a rigid taijutsu form could easily be overcome in the right circumstances. The enclosed space of the apartment hadn't allowed for Naruto to use the more sweeping attacks of the Goken style, and it had hampered his efforts tremendously.

A more flexible form based around quickness, efficiency of movement, and flexibility was more his speed. It fit in with what he liked in a shinobi fight, and would allow him to use his ever increasing ninjutsu abilities. He had to start with eliminating many of the kicks, they were common in the Goken style, and replace them with more grabs, grapples, and throws, more close range tactics.

It was easier said than done. Building a taijutsu style couldn't be done overnight, and Naruto knew that it would take years for it to sort itself out properly. There was no sense in not getting started though.

The wind ruffled his hair as time flowed past him in the clearing. At one point, he and Ino shared a look, no words were conveyed, and the individualized training session devolved into a spar of epic proportions.

Naruto was more than happy to say he won.

If you had asked him a few months ago, he would have been scandalized to even hear the suggestion that he would have to go full out to beat Ino in a spar. It was a credit to both him and her that he had no such compulsions anymore.

He took a sip from his canteen, reveling in the crisp, cool taste. There was something inherently enjoyable about relaxing alongside nature. It had a certain energy to it. A relaxing energy, if Naruto were to attempt to describe it.

Even powerful.

It was peaceful though.

Naruto shook his head quickly to clear his head of such confusing thoughts. Now wasn't the time to think of such things. No, now was the time to focus on much more important things.

Like why Ino's head was currently resting on his shoulder. "Ino?" he asked, his voice light.

"Hmm, yes Naruto-kun?" she responded blearily, sounding like she was the most comfortable person in the world. Naruto blinked at both the tone and the suffix at the end of his name. She had started adding the "kun" to the end of his name recently, and he didn't know what to make of it.

He shook it off. "Is something wrong?"

She lifted her head from his shoulder gently. Cerulean met sea foam as their eyes locked. Naruto fought down a blush at the proximity of their faces. _So undignified_, he thought. _How does she do this stuff to me?_

"No." Her response was simple and she returned her head to its former resting place. Naruto nearly sputtered at the girl, but controlled himself. He settled back into the tree trunk and did his best to make himself comfortable. He knew well enough that Ino wouldn't leave her place of comfort unless he forced her off. Inwardly, he reflected that he wasn't too inclined to move her.

Growing up the way he did, with just about no one to either raise him or comfort him, he was mostly unfamiliar with human contact of the pleasant variety. He was sure that this would fall into that branch. It was nice to know that someone was comfortable enough with him to be willing to actually touch him. The fact that it was Ino of all people who was so comfortable with him brought an involuntary smile to his face. He knew he still nursed a crush on the girl next to him, and it hadn't really shrunk since he had gotten to know her.

It was just more indication that his life was changing more than he had ever imagined. And for the better.

He had a team that he actually liked. No, it was more than that. While he had his squabbles with Kiba and Ino respectively, he wouldn't replace them with anyone. Not for anything. That didn't even go over the effect Asuma was having on his life. The man was rapidly filling the gap that a father figure should have occupied. It had gotten to the point that he wanted the man to be pleased with him just for the sake of it, rather than it being a matter of pride.

Kiba was as good a running buddy as he had had back in the Academy, and he genuinely enjoyed exchanging barbs with the dog ninja. He had even caught himself defending him to Sasuke a few times.

Ino was the same, yet so different. He wasn't quite sure when the girl had started paying attention to him, but he was sure that he didn't mind. Their friendship, if it could be called that, was probably the best thing to come out of his time with Team Ten. The girl had proved herself to be more than just another pretty face from the Academy. She was far more than that. She was a competent kunoichi; smart, skilled, and determined to prove herself to anyone she came across. Naruto knew himself well enough to know that he never would have given her the same respect she held with him had he never been on her team. He had never done it in the Academy, despite her grades showing her competency. He had simply brushed it off, disregarding her as just another Sasuke fangirl.

Naruto sighed audibly, unknowingly breaking the companionable silence that had permeated the clearing for the last five minutes. Thinking was becoming a steady habit of his these days. It was probably for the best.

"I suppose I owe you an apology," he said suddenly, startling Ino out of her daze. She had been dozing comfortably for the past few minutes, though he had no way of knowing that, as wrapped up in his own thoughts as he had been.

"Hm? For what?" she asked, perplexed. Ino straightened herself, taking her head off Naruto's shoulder with some reluctance. It was remarkably comfortable.

Naruto took a moment to formulate his thoughts…and came up with nothing. He couldn't think of how to formulate an apology without sounding like a total douche bag in the process. How exactly did you tell someone that you used to have absolutely no respect for them?

"Um…well, I'm not really sure how to say it," he stated rather lamely. Unconsciously, he reached up with his right hand and began scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

Ino locked eyes with him, a perfectly manicured eyebrow raised delicately. "So…you want to apologize, but…you don't know what for? Or you just don't know how to say it," she finished conclusively.

"The second one," Naruto clarified with some hesitation. This wasn't going at all like he'd wanted. He took a couple of long swigs from his canteen to try to buy some time.

"You don't know how to say it," Ino said again, looking thoughtful. "That means it's probably embarrassing in some way." She directed an accusing glare at him. "You've been having perverted thoughts about me, haven't you?"

The water going down Naruto's throat halted as the boy sputtered incoherently for a moment. "Wh-what?" he coughed, spitting out the remainder of the water he had been drinking. He knew the girl well enough to know she had timed her statement perfectly. _Bitch_. "Of course not!" was what he said out loud.

Ino narrowed her eyes at him. "So you don't think I'm attractive. Any boy that thinks I'm attractive should have _some_ perverted thoughts about me," she concluded in a grand leap of logic. Naruto's eyes widened in horror. One precious life lesson he had learned in his youth was to never insult a woman's looks. That went double for a girl as vain as Ino could be at times.

"What? No! I mean yes! I do think-"

"You know Naruto," Ino cut him off haughtily, offense clear as she moved away from him. "Kiba may be an idiot, but he's right that women do like to be appreciated."

"But that has nothing to do…" the blond boy trailed off as he stared at his teammate. His eyes narrowed as his mind finally caught up with his mouth. "Oh no, no. You're not pulling that shit," he declared.

Blond eyebrows shot into the girl's hairline. "Excuse me? You're the one insulting me."

"Not happening, Ino."

"What's not happening?" she asked. She looked annoyed, but Naruto knew better.

"This," he said simply, gesturing at the little clearing they were situated in.

"If by this, you mean insulting me, then yes it is happening."

He shook his head. "Uh un. No. This; you're getting me off topic by teasing me, just like you always do."

"And by topic, you mean…"

"My apology!"

"Oh, so you're apologizing for insulting me. Well, let's hear it then." The blond genin sat back on her haunches, an expectant look on her face.

"I'm not apologizing for that! I didn't even insult you!"

"So what _are_ you apologizing for?" she questioned, finally looking bored with the whole situation. She casually buffed her nails against her purple top.

"For thinking you were a bimbo back in the Academy!" Naruto burst out as he began pacing about the clearing. He missed the triumphant smirk upon his teammate's face as he got on a roll. "I mean, here I am, swallowing my _pride_ and apologizing, and you just start in on your usual routine."

"I have a routine now?"

"Your teasing! All your flirting and all that confusing shit you do to confuse me."

"Aw, you don't like it, Naruto-kun?" she asked demurely, batting her eyelashes.

"_That_! Right there! What you just did," he exclaimed, pointing accusingly at her from across the clearing where he had abruptly stopped pacing.

"What about it?" she asked innocently.

"It's…it's…" he trailed off. It wasn't exactly like he wanted her to stop her teasing. It was enjoyable sometimes. Not to mention that Ino wouldn't be Ino without that facet of her personality. It wasn't like she would actually stop if he asked, in any event. "You know what," he said, plopping down next to her on the ground. "Never mind."

His frustration was spent, so he just settled for leaning back against the same tree he had been resting against before. To his surprise, and inwardly, to his satisfaction, Ino moved back to the same spot she had been in before, casually resting her head on his shoulder once more as if nothing had even been said.

He even went so far as to lean his own head on top of hers. Her hair was pleasantly soft.

He couldn't really describe their relationship, Naruto decided. They argued about random things often enough, almost as much as she and Kiba did, but they also got along far better than Ino and Kiba did on a regular basis. There was a comfort level there that Naruto couldn't really describe. If push came to shove, he knew full well that Ino would have his back, but that was what teammates did. They were closer than that, somehow. He honestly felt that he would be able to trust her with just about anything, and he had no idea why.

That was just fine though.

Naruto's eyes drifted shut as he allowed his body to relax for the first time since he had arrived in Wave Country.

"So…what's this about you thinking I was a bimbo?"

"Arrgh!"

/~/

A soft smile crept up on an equally soft face as he observed the two pre-teens from a safe distance. It would be hard to tell that the two were ninja had he not already known. They seemed just like average pre-teens.

He knew full well that they were far from it.

He had observed the two for some time now, taking in their routine. They were competent for their age, and that was worrying to an extent. His master would need all the help he could get against the Konoha jonin when they made their move, and having two – three, he corrected himself – capable adversaries besides the jonin would bode ill for him.

It looked like he would have to make an appearance.

His heart was saddened by the prospect of killing such happy children, especially ones that were in the midst of young love. It would be necessary though. He would harden his heart so his master's ambitions would be fulfilled.

Even as the thoughts crossed his mind, a hand crept toward his concealed senbon pouch within his kimono. His hand brushed cold metal for a moment as he contemplated ending the lives of the two genin right here and now. It could save them some problems down the road, and who knew, it might even send the other two home without having to kill them.

The girl settled down next to the boy for the second time, idly resting her head on his shoulder. The boy followed suit shortly after, putting his head on hers.

His resolve faltered, and the silent observer replaced his senbon with a click. He couldn't bear to kill such children in such a way.

He would harden his heart for his master and his ambitions, but not this day.

With another soft smile that made him look even more effeminate, Haku went back to his herb picking, wandering away from the two genin in the clearing, oblivious to his presence.

/~/

Wind ruffled blond hair and whipped through black shorts as Naruto stared.

It was one hell of a view. Wave was truly a beautiful country from the right angle. Rolling hills from the border of the island inward; lush, green forests that spoke volumes about the amount of moisture in the air. That didn't even begin to describe the view of the sea. Blue, rolling waves that majestically crashed against the shoreline with untold force.

Naruto had lived a fairly sheltered life in Konoha. To him, the sea's majesty was awe inspiring. To an extent, he understood how so many bards had found inspiration in the ocean. He just wasn't quite sure he would be able to find words to properly describe it had he been put on the spot. It was that amazing.

From the top of the tallest tree in the immediate vicinity of Tazuna's home, Wave looked to be a country floating in a cloud, the rolling fog's white contrasting with the eternal blue of the sea. From sixty feet in the air, Naruto could see the sun clearly for the first time since he had arrived in Wave Country, its reflection off of the mist and water nearly blinding at times.

He wished he had some sunglasses so he could stare at it.

He supposed it was for the best, he wasn't so high up to enjoy the view. One heartbeat later had blue eyes focused back on their target: Tazuna's house. The humble abode was about as interesting to regard as it was to watch paint dry, but he had his assignment. He was about used to the boredom by now anyway. He had made this tree his vantage point three days ago, when Asuma had estimated that Zabuza would be about ready to make his attack, if he was truly still alive.

The plan was simple in nature, and accounted for most of the variables that Team Ten had managed to brainstorm in one of their powwows. The main concern was that Zabuza, or Gatou as it may turn out to be, would send men to Tazuna's house in order to eliminate or take the man's family hostage when he was working at the bridge. It was a likely prospect, and would require Team Ten to keep at least one member back to deal with any threat to Tsunami and Inari that may present itself. There had been some serious discussion about who to leave, but Naruto had been conscripted into the job, the reasoning behind it being that he was the most all around of the three genin, and leaving Asuma behind was out of the question.

Naruto just took it as confirmation of his skills. He was being trusted to deal with the possible threat of shinobi knocking on Tazuna's front door, and that was something most jonin sensei would hesitate at sending one of their relatively green genin to deal with – no matter how low that threat was. It was a nice feeling knowing that someone in a position of authority respected your skills.

In any event, he had holed himself up in Tazuna's house for the better part of the first day, citing that it would allow him to immediately respond to anything, but that had lasted as long as he could tolerate Inari's incessant staring at him and negative energy. Honestly, the boy just _bled_ bad vibes. Had it gone on for any longer, Naruto would have been more likely to kill him than any possible attacker. The boy's bitching was downright intolerable. Not to mention that he always stared at him with a look that plainly said he pitied Naruto for his "stupidity".

In some ways, he had come to really respect Tazuna and the cause he fought for, no matter how it put him and his team in danger, but he couldn't comprehend how he had managed to end up with such a little bitch for a grandson. It was mind boggling.

He supposed he could just pin it on bad parenting, though Tsunami seemed to have a decent head on her shoulders.

She was hot too. That made everything better.

He and Ino had had much fun ribbing Kiba about his newfound obsession with his "dream woman". It was endlessly amusing watching the boy's posturing in an attempt to get some attention from the mature woman; doubly so because the pretty woman was far more interested in their laid back jonin sensei. Kiba would never forgive Asuma till his dyeing day for that one fact, or so the mutt grumbled.

Still, as amusing as it was, Naruto could see where the boy was coming from. No matter how much he liked Ino, there was something inordinately attractive about a mature woman. Naruto was no expert on feelings, but there was a quiet confidence exuded by a woman who had found her niche in life and was comfortable with it and herself. It was…soothing was the best way he could describe it.

Rolling mist, thicker than what was natural, caught the light of the sun in Naruto's peripheral vision. _So it begins_, he thought dramatically. The mist was his signal that Zabuza was finally making his move. He was to wait a full five minutes if no one showed themselves, an eternity in the shinobi world, before breaking cover and getting to the bridge as fast as he could.

The boy shifted slightly in the tree's upper branches as he tapped out the seconds on the bark. He could forgive himself some nervous anticipation, but it was more than that. Uncontrollable by his own thoughts, he was itching for a fight.

The count got to fifty seconds when two figures emerged from the dense foliage surrounding Tazuna's house. They were dressed like thugs, katana's held arrogantly at their sides as they swaggered in like they owned the place. _Fucking ronin_, he thought uncharitably. He checked himself for a moment. They could actually be shinobi in disguise. He discarded the notion a moment later. Even the most idiotic of shinobi weren't as arrogant, not at the level these two would be at.

His thoughts were confirmed a moment later as they kicked in the door. A smart shinobi, or even a smart thug, would have knocked. The person who answered the door would have been somewhat unawares and easy to subdue and capture. _Honestly, no creativity_.

"God damnit! Hold _still_ woman!" came the shout from inside. The sound of muffled screaming came a moment later, followed by wailing that could only belong to Inari.

They reemerged from the abode a few moments later, a struggling Tsunami being dragged from the house.

Naruto stood, chakra holding him to the thin branch. A quick glance at the clearing around the home revealed no new enemies, so Naruto felt relatively safe from ambush.

His legs flexed once, hard, before he leapt from his perch like a swimmer diving into a pool, arms held out and legs snapped together forming his body into a "T" shape. Chakra carried him past the surrounding branches sticking from the tree, and he did a quick, midair roll on his way down, using his life essence to angle his body into a perfectly controlled fall.

The thug not holding Tsunami was completely unprepared for one hundred and five pounds of twelve year old to come crashing down upon him from sixty feet in the air. He said nothing as Naruto plowed into him, having simply let gravity go to work, and he said nothing as his body was crushed into the earth as Naruto discharged the chakra in his legs so as not to break them.

"You won't hurt my mother!"

A determined and tear spilling Inari sprinted outside his home, knife brandished wildly, only to see one of his attackers wordlessly pounded into the ground with all the grace and subtlety of a railroad spike. "Huh?" escaped his lips as Naruto stood calmly on top of the dead man, two kunai held loosely at his sides as he stared down the second man with something akin to divine wrath in his eyes.

"Get back in the house Inari," was all the blond said, without even turning to face the boy. The boy retreated wordlessly, barely in control of his own body, so in awe of the blond specter of righteousness before him was he.

The remaining ronin had regained some semblance of his wits, and was brandishing his katana at Tsunami's neck.

"Stop right there! I'll kill her! I will kill her!" he screamed, his voice shaking.

Naruto pinned all the rudimentary killing intent he could muster on the man and was rewarded with the thug breaking out in a cold sweat. "Drop the bade, ronin," he said in his best "intimidating voice". He imagined it sounded ridiculous coming from a twelve year old. "You drop the blade, you live. If you make me come and get her, you die. If you kill her, you die. Is this really worth losing your life over."

Contrary to what Naruto wanted, the man simply pulled the blade tighter to Tsunami's neck, eliciting a muted wail from the captive woman.

_One chance_. A seal-less Kawarimi had Naruto in Tsunami's place, his chakra easily dwarfing hers. He was inside the man's guard before the man realized a switch had been made, and a simple haymaker to the neck sent him to the ground, his windpipe crushed. Naruto spun one of his two kunai idly before planting it in the man's exposed chest, right through the heart.

He had no pity for such men, but allowing any human being to die in such a painful way was distasteful to the twelve year old genin. The boy turned to the embracing mother and son with a reassuring smile plastered across his face.

"You two should get back inside," he cautioned as the two turned to him. Tsunami nodded hurriedly, tears flowing.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" she gushed as she steered a sobbing Inari inside with a firm hand, unconsciously shielding him with her body from any other threat, real or imagined. Even now, she thought of her son first.

Naruto smiled wistfully at the sight of mother and son, silently lamenting his own lack of a mother, before turning his gaze toward the bridge. He couldn't see it clearly through the trees, but Zabuza's mist was seeping through the foliage.

That wasn't good.

He gave one more glance to Tazuna's house, where Tsunami was barricading the entrance with furniture – _Smart woman_, he thought– before channeling chakra and stepping into Shunshin.

The world blurred to a combination of green, brown, and grey as tunnel vision made its wonders known to Naruto. He stopped abruptly as the bridge came into view. Heavy mist covered the area, restricting Naruto's view of his teammates, but he could see one thing.

Large, reflective shards of what looked to be ice were the only thing that penetrated the mist, the muted light reflecting off of them like mirrors. _That can't be good._

He broke into a full sprint as the sounds of clashing blades reached his ears. He wasn't stupid enough to charge into a full scale battle in Shunshin, he'd be cut down in an instant just on reflex. A chakra enhanced leap carried him into the mist where he landed in an instinctive roll to dodge any projectiles that may have been aimed at him. Asuma had trained him well.

The roll saved his head, as he felt a kunai whipping through the air where his head had just been.

"Naruto!" the familiar voice of Ino called through the mist from the direction he kunai had come from, and Naruto balked. Fratricide would have been one hell of a way to go.

"Damnit Ino, hold your fire!" He sprinted through the mist toward her. She stood flanking Tazuna, her tanto drawn and held at the ready. Her gaze snapped to him with something akin to relief as he approached. "'The fuck's happening?"

"Asuma-sensei's fighting Zabuza while Kiba's dealing with the hunter-nin," she nearly screamed at him. From the words themselves, he would have thought the situation under wraps. Her tone, however, told a different story.

"Sensei can take care of himself," _I hope_. "Where's Kiba?" Naruto asked in a rush, already prepping his materials. Kunai were loaded with an explosive tag each and deposited into one of the pockets in his shorts. Shuriken were threaded with wire and placed in his middle weapons pouch on the small of his back; the second of three. _I _really _should have done this earlier!_

Ino pointed with a shaking hand. "In there." That was unlike her in every way. In battle, he had found, she was often at her most collected. For her to be this shaken up…

…things weren't looking good.

Naruto spun his head so fast he felt a pop in his neck. The reflective construct he had seen from off the bridge loomed ahead of him, the sounds of combat coming from within. How the hell had he _missed_ that? He mentally slapped himself a few times. This wasn't the time to lose focus in battle.

"How the _fuck _did he get caught up in there?" he asked as he re-retrieved his explosive laden kunai from his hip pocket.

"No idea, Naruto, but _be careful_, that guy's probably as fast as you," Ino cautioned. That gave Naruto pause, and he glanced back at the mirror structure. He was unable to make out anything but two shapes weaving around each other on the bridge.

"Great," he drawled. "Anything else I should know?" He quickly double checked his resistance seals to make sure they were disengaged. They were.

"He's good with water," Ino rushed out, tapping the bridge with her hand impatiently as she tried to dredge up any more information she could think of. "Arrgh! That's all I got!"

Naruto nodded as he turned. "Ok…water natured, fast, mirror like structure…" he trailed off in thought as he tried to formulate a plan. Glancing at the construct before him, he narrowed his eyes. It was abnormally cold on this bridge, even for Wave. The answer came to him at the speed of thought. "Ice, maybe?" It made a twisted sort of sense. Ice was really just water. He had never heard of Ice Manipulation, but now wasn't the time for that.

Kiba was on the other guy's home turf. It was time to get him out.

Naruto broke into a light jog as he approached the mirror dome. The two shapes became clear enough to view, and Naruto spied two Kibas. _Jujin Bunshin!_

"Kiba! Get back!" he screamed. Two pairs of feral eyes snapped to his as he hurled the two explosive tag laden kunai in between a gap in the mirrors. The boy and his dog leapt back, simultaneously avoiding a hail of senbon speeding toward them, as Naruto's hands formed a ram seal.

…_2…1…_

A single application of chakra activated the charges on the kunai, which detonated with a force of two grenades. Shrapnel peppered the inside of the dome, but Naruto didn't stick around to find out what had happened.

The concussive force, while impressive, hadn't resulted in a shattering sound, something that would have naturally happened had the mirrors broken. Six hand seals had him submerged in heavy concrete courtesy of Doton: Dochu Senko, and a focused application of chakra blew a hole right through the concrete in a place Naruto knew was covered by the dome.

He exploded upward from the concrete with a crash as dust filled his vision. Rapid blinking cleared his sight well enough to make out the forms of Kiba and a transformed Akamaru huddling away from his explosion.

The two needed no goading to dive through the hole Naruto had created, and the trio of Team Ten teammates scampered back outside the dome.

"What the hell took you so long?" Kiba groused as they pushed their way through concrete and support beams. Naruto was surprised he had managed the Earth natured technique so quickly, given the structure of the bridge. It was amazing what chakra and adrenaline could do when moving in the same direction.

"Had some shit to deal with, mutt. Aren't you happy I bothered to show up?" Naruto snarked as grey light assaulted his eyes.

Naruto immediately made space once he emerged from the tunnel, speeding through seals for the Fuuton: Renkudan in order to provide cover. His instinct turned out to be fortuitous, as the hunter-nin appeared from a mirror less than three meters from the trio, and made to press his advantage. The screaming Renkudan had other ideas, however, and the masked youth was forced to abort.

Danger senses screamed bloody murder at him, and Naruto dropped low to avoid being turned into a pincushion. He palmed two kunai and the wind howled as an ethereal light surrounded the blades. He let the true nature of Wind Chakra take over as he slashed the air while the hunter chucked more senbon toward him, the wild chakra flying off the kunai and deflecting the incoming needles, leaving ruts in the concrete where they impacted the bridge.

"Get back!" he ordered Kiba and Akamaru. They obliged him as he blurred into Shunshin.

Only reflex born of life on the run saved the masked hunter as death soared toward him. His right arm came up in a rudimentary, reflexive block that halted Naruto's kunai strike in his forearm. He resisted the urge to scream as wind chakra ripped through skin, muscle, and bone, tearing his arm away with an almighty wrench, and a burst of speed carrying him away from Naruto.

The blond cursed sulferously as his prey slipped away from him, saved by a lucky break. The hunter wouldn't be letting him get so close a second time._ No sense in not trying though_.

Three kunai were airborne as Naruto finished seals, a Fuuton: Reppusho propelling the blades at thrice their normal speed. A slab of ice appeared from nowhere to block the projectiles, where they embedded themselves nearly hilt deep in the mirror.

A second curse split the air as Naruto realized he wouldn't get another opportunity to end the hunter-nin anytime soon. At least not by himself. The hunter was as fast as him, at least, and wasn't about to let himself be maneuvered.

A gust of wind blew a few strands of hair in his face, and he brushed them away idly, his blue eyes scanning what little he could of the bridge. Asuma had his hands full with Zabuza, the man's massive cleaver keeping the Konoha jonin at a safe distance. Ino was performing a hasty patch job on Kiba and Akamaru, both of whom were suffering from multiple puncture wounds.

He was on his own for the moment, as Ino needed to patch up Kiba before he would be any use in a fight.

He gripped a kunai as the hunter-nin spun toward him, senbon in his good hand. The two blades met in the middle, the hunter showing a surprising amount of strength for such a lithe body, as Naruto noticed for the first time. Naruto used his second hand to bring a second blade to bear and slashed out, slicing the hunter's kimono as he spun away.

A swift pivot on the balls of his feet had Naruto in position to block a second stab, and the redirected needle passed over his left shoulder harmlessly. The hunter made to move away once more, but Naruto was having none of it. A harsh grab of the arm had the shinobi in a vice grip as Naruto used his body weight to hurl the body to the concrete. A kunai quickly split the ninja's neck.

Naruto was already moving as the body exploded into water, a hail of needles peppering the spot he vacated. A second hail from his right forced him backwards, and Naruto used his left kunai to slash out at the specter of the hunter-nin. His blade caught skin once more, but the hunter was one step ahead again. The body dispersed into liquid and Naruto was left off balance as his kunai split water.

Water splashed around his feet as he attempted to regain his balance on the slippery ground. He had no time, however, as the hunter asserted himself with a vicious stab at Naruto's exposed neck. Only a desperate grab halted the motion of the shinobi's good hand, and Naruto moved to use momentum to swing the hunter around when he encountered a problem.

He couldn't move.

A glance downward showed that the hunter was doing more than Naruto had originally thought, as his feet were encased in ice. His eyes widened as they met the eye slits of the hunter's mask.

"Now you won't even be able to run from my attacks," a melodious voice spoke from beneath porcelain.

Naruto's eyes were drawn to the hunter's bad arm, the one he had stabbed, and he beheld the boy making one handed seals. _How is that possible!_ he mentally screamed. His harried breath billowed out in a white cloud, and he belated realized that it suddenly had gotten colder. Much colder.

A stomp to the water laden bridge sent water skyward, where it coalesced into needles made of pure ice.

"I don't want to kill you," the hunter spoke, voice sounding solemn. "But I will kill my heart in this case. You are far too dangerous. I am sorry."

The senbon twitched once in midair before shooting toward him at speeds too fast to dodge. Naruto's eyes widened as death soared toward him.

"Tsuuga!" was all Naruto had time to hear before his body was brutally slammed into by a spinning grey projectile.

Ice cracked and he was airborne before he knew it, but the all too short flight came to an abrupt end on the hard concrete. He had little time to feel disoriented as a slap to the face brought him back to reality.

"Wake the fuck up, Naruto!" he heard Kiba howl at him.

Blond hair flailed about his head as he shook it to clear his head. He immediately wished he hadn't, as nothing but bruising pain hit him in the chest.

"What the _fuck_ Kiba?" he coughed when the memory of being barreled into by Tsuuga reasserted itself in his mind.

"Sorry, man, it was all I could think of to get you out of that," Kiba apologized as Naruto pushed himself up, doing his best to ignore the pain where he knew his ribcage to be. "Better battered and bruised then dead, right?"

"Don't count on it," Naruto groused as his preliminary test of his ribs revealed sharp pain in three too many places. They were broken, but not shattered. That was good.

"Well suck it up. Ino's covering us right now, but her genjutsu's gonna break at some point."

Naruto nodded, wincing in pain as his ribs started involuntarily grinding together of all things. He coughed, once, as blinding pain hit his senses for a single moment before a pleasant heat enveloped the damaged ribs. Abruptly, and with no goading from Naruto himself, the pain disappeared, taking the pleasant warmth with it.

He quickly padded himself down, only to feel no pain whatsoever. _What the hell? There's no way broken ribs can heal that quick. Not even with chakra therapy._

"-ruto! Naruto! Listen the fuck up, man. We need a plan," Kiba was shouting at him.

He shook himself once more, breaking any and all thoughts about how he had somehow managed to spontaneously heal three cracked ribs. There were more pressing matters to attend to.

"Yeah, I hear ya'. Where's Ino?"

Kiba pointed to a spot on the bridge mostly obscured by mist, Naruto could barely make out two figures huddled together. "She's doing a double layer on the hunter," Kiba clarified for Naruto. A quick glance showed the hunter hurling senbon at an imaginary opponent. "It won't hold long."

"Alright, move. We're gonna trap him. I'll flush him out once Ino drops the illusion." Naruto quickly tossed a kunai to a spot on the bridge near where the hunter was flailing about. "Hit him here with all you've got. We need to make this work and I don't trust us to get another shot at this guy. He's not too strong close in, but he's crafty."

Kiba nodded resolutely. "Got it. Put your radio in. Ino and me are on channel two."

Naruto didn't bother nodding as he ghosted through the mist toward the illusion entrapped hunter. He threaded the wire for his radio through his ear absently as he strafed. His first inclination would be to kill the hunter outright, but Asuma would want information from him after the fight was through. They needed to take him alive, and that was just so much harder.

He palmed a kunai as the hunter was finally in range. "Ino," he growled over the com.

He wasn't quite sure when the illusion dropped, but that wasn't his concern as he slashed out at neck level with the hunter. Eyes widened behind porcelain as Naruto came into view once the illusion fell, and the hunter ducked on reflex.

Naruto's eyes gleamed as his kunai sliced through long black hair, and the hunter moved to make space. _Not so fast!_ Naruto thought as he brought his leg up and out in vicious, chakra enhanced thrust kick. The hunter attempted to block with both forearms, but the kick proved too much as the shinobi was sent sailing through the air, directly toward the kunai Naruto had thrown before.

Kiba appeared from nowhere and was nothing but a grey blur as he executed his clan's signature technique with a scream of "Tsuuga!"

The hunter-nin was slammed with an almighty CRACK, and soared for a precious few moments before landing in a heap, unmoving.

Naruto gripped his kunai loosely as he warily approached the hunter, who was now struggling to raise himself from the ground. The disguised shinobi fell back to the concrete with a muted thump and a rustling of cloth.

"I wouldn't try that if I were you," Naruto cautioned as he approached. "You probably have a few cracked ribs, if not shattered ones, and judging by the state of your arm, that's broken too." The left arm, the one Naruto hadn't stabbed earlier, was bent at an unnatural angle adjacent to the shinobi's body. The blond took a moment to admire the pure power that the Inuzuka technique had, inwardly happy that the same hadn't happened to him earlier.

He flipped the body over with his foot cautiously, though none too gently, to take in the surprising sight of a bloodied front and a cracked mask, revealing a blood spattered, feminine face. She was quite pretty, in Naruto's opinion. It was just too bad she was fighting on the wrong side of things today.

"Alright, up you get," he said as he lifted the girl bodily into his arms and half carried, half dragged her to the edge of the bridge, where he leaned her against the railing. Kiba joined him a moment later, while Ino slowly worked Tazuna over to their position. Caution was always the best part of valor.

"So…what do we do with her?" Kiba questioned, his gaze locked on their captive. His eyes were oddly appraising, calculating even. It was far from the usual reaction he had when faced with a pretty girl. Even he realized the situation they were in.

Naruto sighed. He had planned the combat expertly while in the heat of the moment, and now he hadn't the faintest idea of what to do. Life was funny like that sometimes. "I've got no idea," he finally admitted. "I figured Asuma would want someone to question afterwards, and we all know we wouldn't get shit from Zabuza."

"So are we just supposed to wait here for sensei?" Ino asked as she arrived on the scene with Tazuna in tow, wind whipping through her hair from the discharge of one of Asuma's Fuuton jutsu. She gave both Naruto and Kiba a once over, checking them for injuries. Her eyes lingered on Naruto for a few extra moments. He locked eyes with the girl and nodded once, conveying that he was alright.

He sighed once more. "I guess?" It came out as more of a question.

"Kill…me…" the soft voice of the hunter piped up weakly. Four heads spun to regard the girl in stunned silence.

"Wh-what?" Ino finally squeaked. Enemies asking to be killed wasn't something Team Ten was familiar with. Naruto and Kiba just stared.

"I want to protect the person important to me... I want to work for that person. I want to fight for that person. I want to make that person's dream come true... That is my dream," the girl muttered, more to herself than to Team Ten and Tazuna. "I failed in my dream. I've realized…my existence is no longer needed."

Naruto shook himself from his stupor. "What's your name?" he asked gently, far more gently than he had ever asked anyone anything before. It was almost as if he feared the girl would break if he raised his voice.

"Haku," was the whispered reply.

"Well, Haku, we're gonna get you patched up a bit." He held his hand up to stall any protest the girl may have had. "We're not gonna kill you, Haku, so you may as well get used to it. We have some questions we need to ask you."

The girl seemed to pull herself together for a single moment, almost looking outraged at the notion that they wouldn't honor her wish to be killed, but then wilted, falling back against the support beam.

Naruto turned to Ino. "See what you can do for her. We don't need her pass-"

An earth shattering explosion rocked the bridge suddenly, followed by a large gust of wind that cleared the mist from the bridge in one fell swoop. Naruto steadied himself against the bridge's railing as he gazed into the area where the explosion came from. His eyes widened.

Trench knives in hand, Asuma stood in the remnants of a great ash cloud, battered, bruised, and cut. His vest was nearly sliced in half, and the blood stains could be seen clearly even from a distance. The jonin stood like a great statue of a hero of the old times, weapons brandished as he engaged a monster of legend and brought it to its knees.

The eyes of the blond were drawn to the second form on the bridge. Zabuza kneeled in the center of the concrete construct, cleaver discarded in front of him in the wake of the excessive amount of third degree burns covering his exposed skin, the explosion having burned through his sleeveless top.

"A shinobi who's willing to sacrifice everything for his goals," Asuma said as he strode toward Zabuza, trench knives glowing with extended wind chakra sharpened to a four foot blade. "Everything, including the very people you seek to control. That's not what a shinobi does."

Zabuza glared. "I don't give a shit what you think a shinobi should do. I fight for my own goals."

"You _fought_ for your own goals," Asuma corrected. "And you die for your own goals."

Three things happened at once. Asuma brought his blade down in a vertical slash that would bisect Zabuza; the Kirigakure no Kijin raised his head to death; and Ino gave a squeal of surprise as she was unceremoniously bowled over.

It was the third that caught Naruto's attention. He turned to regard his teammate, only to find her sprawled on the bridge. Haku was gone, an ice mirror left in her place.

"Oh no." In a single, momentary heartbeat of total clarity, Naruto knew exactly what would happen. He spun to face Asuma and Zabuza to warn his sensei, but by then it was far too late.

A single ice mirror stood between Haku and Zabuza, slowly melting as its creator bled out on to the concrete, Asuma's trench knife having neatly eviscerated the hunter-nin. The jonin stood transfixed by the sight of the young girl in front of him, shocked beyond words. Zabuza was the only one who didn't seem to be moving in slow motion, his body already moving to capitalize on the opportunity.

It was all over in the blink of an eye; in one slash of the blade. And Team Ten watched, transfixed.

"Heh, one hell of a kid, giving a chance like that. Sure can pick 'em."

Zabuza stood, cleaver in hand, a vicious smirk upon his face as he towered over the bodies of Asuma and Haku, their heads separated from their necks as blood flowed freely onto the bridge.

/~/

**AN: Game over, bitches.**

**Read and review as usual. One more chapter left int he Wave Arc after this. It's almost done too.**

**Hope y'all enjoyed,**

**I'm so Pro  
**


	8. Chapter 7: Lesser Evils

Disclaimer: I own Naruto.

/~/

"Heh. Who'da thought picking up some runt off the street would pay off so well?"

Zabuza's voice carried over the bridge effortlessly, even with the mist and its auditory amplification effects gone. The Kirigakure no Kijin stood over the headless bodies of Asuma and Haku, hunched over from exhaustion as he fingered the handle of his massive cleaver. Blood covered him, having spurted as if a fountain from the necks of his two victims. His black muscle shirt was stained with dark splotches that looked right at home on the man named the Demon of the Mist.

Kubikiribocho shone like the sun was bathing it in light, despite the clouds and low lying mist. Its presence made for a chilling picture when next to its blood drenched wielder.

An idle swipe of his hand removed his bandages. Blood soaked as they were, it was getting hard to breath. He tossed them to the concrete without a glance.

"And now for the brats," he former Kiri ANBU growled with a sinister snarl.

Naruto noticed none of this, however, so focused he was on the prone form of Asuma, headless in death. Blood flowed freely from the two parts that had once been his sensei, drenching he formerly grey concrete and dying it red.

_Sensei?_ he thought weakly in his mind. His inner thoughts no more than a whisper as shock set in.

All at once, memories of the battle on the bridge assaulted his mind without warning. Naruto's eyes widened for but a moment as red hot needles threatened to break from his skull and spill out.

_He gripped a kunai as the hunter-nin spun toward him, senbon in his good hand. The two blades met in the middle, the hunter showing a surprising amount of strength for such a lithe body, as Naruto noticed for the first time. Naruto used his second hand to bring a second blade to bear and slashed out, slicing the hunter's kimono as he spun away…_

…"_I don't want to kill you," the hunter spoke, voice sounding solemn. "But I will kill my heart in this case. You are far too dangerous. I am sorry."…_

… _Naruto's eyes gleamed as his kunai sliced through long black hair, and the hunter moved to make space. _Not so fast_! Naruto thought as he brought his leg up and out in vicious, chakra enhanced thrust kick. The hunter attempted to block with both forearms, but the kick proved too much as the shinobi was sent sailing through the air, directly toward the kunai Naruto had thrown before…_

…"_Heh, one hell of a kid, giving a chance like that. Sure can pick 'em."_

_Zabuza stood, cleaver in hand, a vicious smirk upon his face as he towered over the bodies of Asuma and Haku, their heads separated from their necks as blood flowed freely onto the bridge…_

Blue eyes widened as Naruto was ripped from his thoughts by Zabuza's taunting voice.

"Is this the first time you've seen someone fall in battle?" the Demon asked, disgust dripping from his voice. He scoffed. "Greenhorn genin. To think, Haku had so much trouble with you. I suppose he was weak after all. The boy never could kill that heart of his."

Naruto, and Team Ten, was silent as Zabuza rambled. A scream threatened to break from Naruto's lips as his eyes stayed rooted on the rapidly cooling corpse of his sensei. _This isn't happening. It's not _true! he screamed internally.

It couldn't be happening. Not after everything they'd been through. Asuma just _couldn't _be dead.

The genin dimly realized that Zabuza was speaking again. "When I was your age, I already had blood on my hands. Liters of it, from dozens of kills…" the man trailed off, seemingly in fond remembrance. "'The Demon Zabuza', they called me. A boy who slaughtered an entire graduating class of Mist genin when he was only nine." A smile uglier than anything Naruto had ever seen broke across Zabuza's face. "And it felt so _good_!"

Naruto closed his eyes as the man's words washed over him. He was hearing them as if from very far away, his attention still focused entirely on Asuma.

_Thump_.

His heartbeat thumped out the seconds in his ears, overshadowing the Demon of the Mist's words effortlessly.

_Thump_.

The click of the handle of Kubikiribocho sounded as Zabuza hefted the blade to the level of his shoulder without effort.

"Until your names appear in my bingo book, you're not real shinobi in my mind." A short chuckle that sounded more like a cough escaped his throat. The man gently massaged his bruises that the Konoha jonin had left with him. "Heh, too bad you won't live long enough to get there."

_Thump_.

_I'll never forgive you!_ Naruto yelled in his mind, his voice no longer a whisper in the dark. His eyes were squeezed shut, as if not opening them would make Asuma's death less real. Blood coated the underside of his fingernails as they dug into his clenched fists.

Images of a sewer, a great cage lined with hundreds of bars flashed in front of his eyes. Crimson eyes snapped open in the dark as if from a great slumber, and Naruto felt painful warmth wash over him, coating his muscles and bones as if from the inside.

_**It's about time**_.

"Too bad really," Zabuza was saying. "You kids've got talent. The battlefield's no place for children, though."

_THUMP_.

Finger and toenails sharpened into claws; muscles bulged for a moment before relaxing as lactic acid was flushed from them, chakra flowing at an accelerated rate through Naruto's whole body; chakra crackled like electricity down nerve endings, sending instantaneous impulses that impacted the adrenal glands, the chemical heightening Naruto's reflexes beyond anything capable by a shinobi of his age.

Whisker marks elongated and deepened along Naruto's face, and Zabuza finally took notice of the increase chakra output literally spilling from the genin. Black eyes narrowed to slits as he gripped his cleaver and leapt forward, his shinobi instinct to kill the genin before anything untoward happened overriding his curiosity.

It was too late.

Pupils slit down the center, red eyes snapped open as a wave of killing intent that brought Tazuna, Ino, and Kiba to their knees struck Zabuza like a hammer blow. His forward progress was halted abruptly as his eyes widened. _What the fuck_? _No genin should be able to produce this kind of murderous intent_!

Naruto, however, cared little for Zabuza's concerns, as his eyes finally left the prone corpse of his sensei, zeroing in on the object of his rage.

"_I'll kill you!_"

Concrete cracked, dust sprayed upward, and chakra exploded as Naruto burst forward toward Zabuza in a show of raw speed that his sensei wouldn't have been able to match.

Only instincts born of countless battles saved Zabuza as death soared toward him. A hasty duck and a thrust of Kubikiribocho put the massive blade in the path of the genin's new claws, and Zabuza's black eyes watched in shock as the tempered steel was carved into, the sound of metal cracking and scraping sending shivers down his spine.

He didn't know what the _fuck_ had happened to the blond kid, but he knew that he had to make space _fast_.

Naruto, however, wasn't about to let that happen.

Clawed swipes that resembled punches tore through the air at Zabuza, the former jonin using all of his speed and reflexes just to avoid being rent in two. He wasn't fast enough, though, and Naruto's claws met vulnerable flesh with a sickening tear as Zabuza's pain sensors over rode his pride. The Demon of the Mist screamed.

The pain ignited his reflexes, however, and the former ANBU leapt away from Naruto with speed born of desperation, blood dripping from four gashes in his chest.

Naruto let him, his mind at war with baser instincts and rage that threatened to overwhelm him totally. Inside Naruto's mind, the boy knelt, hands clasped to his head as if in pain as red chakra swirled about in the sewer that was his mind-scape. On the outside, his body moved on instinct.

The boy shifted into a crouch for but an instant before he was gone from sight. Zabuza was far more ready for round two, though, the red corona of visible power surrounding the genin giving away his position through the rudimentary Shunshin long before Zabuza saw him.

Muscles screamed as Zabuza torqued his body more sharply than ever had before, Kubikiribocho's flat edge swinging in a wide arc that impacted the charging Naruto with a hard thump and a crack that heralded shattered ribs.

The blond genin was airborne before he knew what to do with himself, and pain assaulted him for but a moment before the healing abilities of the Kyuubi's youki asserted itself. He landed heavily on his back and stayed there for less than a moment, springing back to his feet from his hands.

The blow to his chest had done more than just hurt, however. Naruto's consciousness had awoken from its internal struggle, and the boy was finally back in control of his finer motor functions.

Naruto glanced down at his hands in detached wonder, and with more than a little fear, beholding the claws that had grown from his fingers. His mind was in three places at once, all wondering what the hell happened to him, before common sense and knowledge was reasserted themselves in his brain.

_Kyuubi_, was all he thought, though his inner voice was quiet and hard to hear over the pounding in his ears. It was all that needed to be thought, for it answered all of the questions the blond could have about what he was currently experiencing. No aches, no pain. Hell, he felt great!

The feeling didn't last long, as near precognitive reactions had him ducking backwards under a sword swipe that would have made him as headless as his sensei.

A swift, effortless back flip that revealed dexterity that Naruto hadn't previously possessed created space between the two combatants. Naruto was barely on his feet before he had retrieved and released a kunai from his hip pouch, accelerated reflexes working perfectly with his accelerated arm motion so as to make a perfect throw.

Zabuza raised his cleaver to block the knife, and it clanged off the tempered steel before coming to rest on the concrete of Tazuna's bridge.

Naruto paid it no mind as his body slipped into a goken stance, the result of nigh endless hours of mind numbing and knuckled breaking training making the shift effortless. One hand was clasped behind his back, the other in front, claws raised to the sky as Naruto stared Zabuza down, murder in his eyes.

The whole universe seemed to grind to a halt for a moment as the two shinobi locked eyes. No words were spoken, but then, none were needed.

Naruto exploded force with all the grace and subtlety of a hurricane as the world kicked into high gear once more. Zabuza crouched low and raised his left arm to block a telegraphed roundhouse kick that promised to break stone. The blow never came, however, as the blond merely passed through Zabuza's outstretched arm like a ghost.

_Bunshin_! the former jonin thought in alarm. A quick pivot saved his head, literally, as Naruto's claws passed mere millimeters from Zabuza's neck in a controlled swipe. Swiftly pressing his advantage, Naruto burst into Zabuza's guard with a furious flurry of punches and clawed slashes, determined, though not consciously aware of it, to keep the Kirigakure no Kijin in a taijutsu battle. He wanted no part of the man's ninjutsu.

Zabuza made to make space, and Naruto lunged forward before he distantly realized that he had been had. The Demon of the Mist pressed forward before Naruto knew what had happened, bringing his decapitating knife to bear in a reverse grip strike at Naruto's chest level.

Reflexes beyond human comprehension had muscles firing on all cylinders in Naruto's chakra enhanced body, and the genin was barely in control of his own motions as he planted one hand on the blade and _pushed_, using the momentum and direction to spin his body over the sweeping strike in a barrel roll. He landed on all fours, grabbed a kunai from his hip pouch, and buried it in Zabuza's right shoulder with a savage snarl.

Blood spurted from the wound, but Zabuza was both expecting and conditioned to the pain. The former ANBU ignored it, let momentum go to work, and simply kept spinning, planning to let his blade decapitate Naruto on the back end of his sweep.

His instincts didn't let him finish, however, and his spin was halted as he jumped deftly in order to avoid having his legs swept by the chakra empowered genin.

Naruto met the former jonin with reflexes and reaction time beyond Zabuza's comprehension, and certainly beyond what Naruto had been capable of before. A quick pivot on his hands and a thrust kick had Naruto shooting the Kirigakure no Kijin skyward as his blow landed on the underside of Zabuza's chin. The genin landed on all fours once more, before disappearing in a burst of red chakra.

The Omote Renge required speed and power almost unreachable by normal ninja, and the creator of it had compensated for it by opening the first of the Celestial Gates. Naruto was no normal ninja when under the influence of the Kyuubi's chakra though, and, while the technique was almost unusable in his hands under normal circumstances, being unable to open the Gates, the Demon's youki more than made up the difference.

He reappeared behind the prone and airborne Zabuza in a perfect Kage Buyo, before planting four of his sharpened nails in the man's exposed back. Using his grip for leverage, Naruto flipped and positioned his body so that his head was at Zabuza's feet. The genin locked his arms around the man's legs, his ankles snapping to either side of Zabuza's neck to keep him totally immobile.

Chakra exploded into a visible corona as Naruto forced his body to spin in midair as gravity went to work. The two combatants were an indistinguishable blur to any observing eyes as they fell, Naruto's chakra rapidly gathering in his feet.

That chakra exploded outward as Zabuza's head met the concrete, liquefying flesh, bone, and brain matter while simultaneously providing Naruto with a cushion. The impact was felt by everyone on the bridge as the two shinobi came back down to earth with an almighty crash. Dust was sent skyward and the force channeled by the supports rippled across the concrete, knocking Kiba, Ino, and Tazuna to their back as twenty foot radial fractures spread from the point of impact.

Naruto hopped off the now headless Zabuza without ceremony, red chakra still racing around and across his body as he silently regarded the corpse.

The genin was silent as his red eyes rose to meet those of his teammates'. Distantly, he felt sorrow for what their reactions would be to his big secret being revealed. It was overridden, however, by the blood pounding in his ears.

The smell of fear hit Naruto before the sound of clapping made itself known. The boy turned slowly to regard a small horde of mercenaries, a stubby man in a business suit at the head.

It was unmistakably Gatou.

"Well," the man began, his voice surprisingly steady as he strode forward with a swagger that belied his fear.

Fear that Naruto could smell.

"I had brought all these nice men with me today in order to deal with Zabuza, but you seem to have done me a favor, boy. Thank you." The short man laughed at the irony of the situation. "I never intend to pay any of the shinobi I hire, you see, they cost far too much. I let them do their work, tire themselves out, and then kill them off with numbers. It's a nice little operation I use." The man smirked viciously as he stepped over Zabuza's blade.

Disgust rippled through Naruto despite his detachment from his feelings. It was a testament to how much he hated this man that he could actually feel it through the pleasant yet painful haze of the Kyuubi's youki.

Gatou would die this day; he just didn't know it yet.

"Gatou," was all the rage fueled boy managed to grate out.

It seemed to please the man, though the guttural growl by which it had been delivered seemed to unnerve the man.

"Indeed I am, boy," the stumpy man said. "I'd ask for your name, but I'm not all that interested in dead people." The thugs behind him laughed menacingly, brandishing their assorted weapons in what they thought was a threatening manner.

Naruto was far from impressed as he began a slow march forward.

That only seemed to amuse the man further, though the smell of fear wafting off the man increased.

"Look at this one, men!" Gatou crowed as the assorted thugs laughed at Naruto's stupidity. "Don't try to be a hero, kid. It'll only hurt before you die."

Naruto said nothing as he continued his march, nearing the assembled group with palpable murder in his eyes. A kunai found itself in Naruto's hand and began spinning around his finger.

Gatou had stopped laughing as the genin got ever closer, taking a step back in apprehension as the boy refused to stop. He was an instant away from ordering his men to attack the crazy kid, but he never got the chance.

Naruto's kunai was buried to the hilt in the chest of the thug standing directly behind Gatou, having passed through the shipping magnate's exposed throat like a hot knife through butter.

The stumpy man dropped to his knees as if in shock, blood spilling from the gaping wound lie water from a broken canteen. Naruto paid him little mind as he shoved him aside, now at a full sprint, reaching down to snatch Zabuza's cleaver from its resting place on the bridge.

Neither the balance point, fine though it was, nor the weight registered in Naruto's mind. All that the boy cared about, however distantly, was that it channeled chakra like nothing else he had ever laid his hands on.

Disruptive wind chakra infused with youki crackled madly as it rippled down Kubikiribocho, and Naruto turned his body so that the assembled thugs could see his back. Coiling and uncoiling like a spring, Naruto hurled the massive decapitating knife at the crowd of mercenaries at speeds almost too fast to track.

The sword, spinning like a shuriken, passed through the first man unlucky enough to be in its path as easily as if he were made of water. Wind enhanced as it was, it didn't stop there, living up to its name as it cleaved through three more men before it escaped the four lines the thugs had formed at the entrance to the bridge, finally coming to a stop as it hit the ground, its momentum spent.

Blood spilled from the halves of the victims like water from a broken canteen. One poor soul had been unfortunate enough to be close to the spinning blade's path, but not close enough to have been granted the mercy of death. His arm lay on the ground, neatly sliced off above the elbow as blood flowed from the wound.

Another lay dead on the concrete, having had his chest tagged with disruptive chakra that splayed off the blade in rivulets.

The living man's screams drew the rest of the assembled thug's attention from the dead bodies as they turned as one to watch in morbid fascination as the man, formerly a samurai, quickly bled out.

Naruto paid no such attention.

Bursting forth, the boy left cracks in the concrete as latent chakra was forced into the bridge from Naruto's speed. A blurring after image of the blond was left in his place, so great was his chakra enhanced speed as he hurtled toward the small army.

Cracks and dust exploded from the bridge as Naruto stopped in front of the nearest mercenary, crouched with a hand on the ground and his foot poised to snap to the man's chin. One moment, the man stood, transfixed by the sight of the monster in front of him. The next, he was airborne with a sickening crack that spoke of a broken spine as Naruto neatly snapped a thrust kick to his chin.

The genin didn't even bother with the Kage Buyo in favor of moving on to his next victim. Naruto subconsciously slipped into Goken, the deadly and bruising style of a man whose tutelage had boosted Naruto to second in his class.

A spinning back fist shattered the skull of one mercenary. An improvised punch that sent claws forward instead of knuckles claimed the life of the next. Vulnerable flesh was rent effortlessly as Naruto literally ripped the throat out of one man unlucky enough to be in his path.

It took a total of six seconds and nine dead men to capture the full attention of the assembled mercenaries. Weapons were drawn hastily, hefted in front of them as an impotent defense against the miniature monster in front of them, poised to slaughter them all on a whim.

Naruto had stopped, however, directly above the still sputtering and paralyzed Gatou. A kunai slipped into his hand from his hip pouch and began to spin around one of his fingers.

It had a hypnotic effect on the small army, as the eyes of every man on the bridge was drawn to the small, spinning knife. They all knew what was about to happen, were powerless to stop it, and couldn't look away even if they had wanted to.

Without ceremony, without warning, Naruto buried the kunai hilt deep in Gatou's back, blood spurting forth from the wound in rivulets as the blade severed the aorta savagely. It was withdrawn just a brutally, red life water covering it and dripping down to the now liberally stained concrete.

The kunai began spinning on Naruto's finger once more, flecks of blood flying off in all directions, most landing on the right side of Naruto's face. Blood dripped off the boy's claws and splashed to the concrete, the soft noise all the more deafening in the silence of the bridge.

That was all it took for the dam to break.

All it took was a single man to turn and flee, before all the rest got the idea that they had a much better chance of surviving if they _weren't_ anywhere near the blond ninja turned monster. Most of the men sprinted back toward the forested land that was Fire Country, while a few others dove off the bridge and into the water in their attempt to escape.

Naruto stood silently throughout the whole process, watching with a dispassionate eye as many men tripped over themselves in their haste. The fox's chakra was slowly leaving his chakra coils, the process seemingly instinctive despite Naruto not having any experience with it. Without boosting his system beyond human capabilities, Naruto once more felt every little ache and pain in his body.

He ignored them, however, in favor of watching the crashing waves that gave this country its name. His mental faculties had returned to full strength, finally. To think, he had thought of this country as beautiful just earlier this day; as someplace that he would love to return to.

Now, it would only be a memory. A bloodstained memory filled with sorrow, self loathing for all that he had done, and pain.

He would never return here.

Naruto himself turned, numbly, after several long moments that seemed to last an eternity and an instant all at once, and began moving back to his still shell shocked teammates, red eyes reverting to blue as the Kyuubi's chakra left his system. Sea foam blue and brown eyes regarded him as he passed in between the surviving member of Team Ten, past the quivering Tazuna, and to the limp and headless body of Sarutobi Asuma.

The stupefied eyes of Ino and Kiba watched silently as Uzumaki Naruto dropped to his knees in front of the man who had been the closest thing he had had to a father, and wept.

His body shuddered with emotion for a moment, before going limp, exhaustion finally taking hold of him.

/~/

Looking back, he supposed it was rather like a dream. You never know how exactly you get to where you are, but you're always there. Right in the middle of the action. Right when it matters most. There is no true beginning to it, or if there is, you never remember it.

The only thing that could possibly disprove the thought that it was a dream was the fact the he could remember it as vividly as anything. You can never remember dreams after the fact, at least not with any true clarity. He supposed that it could have been a nightmare, but he had lived through a nightmarish existence for the majority of his childhood, if it could be called that. He knew enough about them to know that this wasn't one, no matter how much he would have liked to believe it.

The red glow from farther down the long sewer in which he stood spoke of something sinister; something that Naruto, for the life of him, wanted absolutely no part of. The boy knew, however, that that very glow was exactly what he was here for, no matter how much he wished it wasn't the case.

With trepidation born of knowledge imparted on him by the Sandaime, Naruto started forward. Water shifted beneath his feet as he approached the crimson glow, chakra control exercises placing on its surface with nary a thought. The boy spared no thought for how he was supposedly controlling chakra within the seal.

Miniscule details like that didn't matter right now.

Only the palpable aura of murderous intent so thick it could be cut with a kunai mattered at present. Had Naruto not known it was coming, his knees would have buckled.

As it was, they almost did.

Naruto found himself standing on top of water that would have been up to his knees had he not boosted himself, facing a cage barred by steel beams two hundred feet high held closed, impossibly, by a slip of paper.

_So that's the seal_, he thought with a detached sort of wonder.

Without warning, crimson eyes fifty feet above Naruto's own opened, the pupils focused on Naruto's own with uncanny clarity, menace and hatred beyond the scope of his imagination held within the twin orbs. Then, somehow, the murderous intent became even more pronounced; thicker and heavier.

Naruto just barely kept himself standing, though he did sink into the water. He was suffocating. Hands rose to his throat by their own accord, trying to find something to unlatch to allow oxygen into his system.

That wasn't the problem though. There wasn't something coiled around his windpipe, restricting his access to air no matter how much he tried to breathe. Nothing was wrapped around his chest, crushing his ribs and lungs. He just couldn't breathe. His lungs wouldn't expand; his diaphragm wouldn't move; his own mouth would barely work to try to force air down his throat.

Just as he was about to lose the battle and fall, the pressure disappeared. It didn't recede or slowly reduce itself. It simply vanished as if it had never been there in the first place.

Naruto took gulps of air with all the vigor of a starving man given a feast to eat. His mind, however, was focused entirely on the monster looming in front of him.

Unknowingly, unconsciously, his respect for the Yondaime, which had taken a nose dive when he had learned of his situation, shot up to its old, God-like levels. _How did he fight such a beast_? Naruto wondered, in awe of the man who had not only fought the biju, but defeated it.

Suddenly, the idea of the Yondaime being acknowledged as the greatest shinobi in the history of the world wasn't so farfetched.

That though, mattered little at present.

"**I would like nothing more than to devour you whole, boy, but that would defeat the purpose of this little chat**," the Kyuubi spoke in a deep, gravelly, unyielding voice that brooked no argument.

"K-Kyuubi," was Naruto's whispered response. Internally, the genin cursed the waver of obvious fear in his voice, but was powerless to stop it. It was an instinctive, primal fear that asserted itself when faced with a being so obviously more powerful than he was.

A wave of hot air smacked him in the face, and Naruto realized belatedly that the fox had just exhaled. "**Yes, boy. I suppose I should be pleased that you at least know that much. I had expected little from a human who had managed to turn his mind-scape into a sewer,**" the fox said with an audible note of sarcasm.

Naruto felt vaguely insulted, but conceded the point. There wasn't much he could do to refute it, in any event. He _was _standing in a sewer.

"So…" he began, his voice made steady through a force of will he hadn't known he possessed. "…what do you want?"

Another blast of air hit him square in the face. "**What do I **_**want**_**, brat?**" the beast asked, seemingly askance that Naruto would ask such a question. "**What I **_**want**_** is to devour you where you stand! What I **_**want**_** is to break free from this prison and finish what I started in that pitiful village you call home! To set that hovel aflame with my power, devour each and every one of those fools who celebrated my so called "death", destroy every monument to your precious **_**Yondaime**_**, and find and torture the human who calls himself Uchiha Madara for the rest of eternity!**"

Naruto was growing steadily more horrified with each passing word, his ability to breathe leaving him once more as the massive killing intent returned bit by bit, choking him all the while.

And, once more, it evaporated as if it had never been present.

"**Unfortunately, boy,**" the beast said, its rant finished, "**that is impossible at present.**" The huge eyes snapped to Naruto's own once more. "**Unless, of course, you would be so kind as to remove that slip of paper.**" The phrase was said mockingly. The fox knew full well that Naruto would do no such thing. Not after that last declaration.

Still, Naruto shook his head. A deep rumbling that shook the very ground Naruto stood upon reverberated throughout the sewer that was Naruto's mind-scape. It took a moment for Naruto to realize the Kyuubi was laughing.

It wasn't a pleasant sound.

"**I thought not.**" Red eyes bored into Naruto, making him fidget as fear took hold even without the monstrous killing intent. He was nothing to this being, and he knew it. Almost unconsciously, he brought his – meager – chakra to bear in a preemptive attempt to stave off what little of the fox's chakra he could.

The fox, however, simply ignored the life energy, not bothering to deign it with a response of every kind. It didn't even bother to mock Naruto.

"**You asked me what I want, boy, and I told you. What you're here for is something different,**" the Kyuubi spoke. It had Naruto's attention. "**I wish to deal**."

Naruto's eyebrows threatened to take flight. "Deal?" he asked incredulously, working up some nerve to actually talk back to the monster in front of him. "Do you think I'm a fool, Kyuubi?" He hadn't been privy to many folk tales as a child, but he knew better than to strike a deal with a being that might as well be the devil.

That nerve promptly disappeared when the beast narrowed its eyes, though the killing intent didn't return. "**You would be a fool not to, **_**boy**_**. You have seen and experienced firsthand what my power is capable of,**" the fox growled. "**My chakra allowed you to reach a level of power you thought unimaginable. My power allowed for you to kill men against whom your meager skills would have left you dead.**"

Naruto shook his head quickly. Despite the truth in the words, truth he had been forced to acknowledge even as he had killed Zabuza with ease, he wasn't about to make a deal with the nine tails.

"I don't want your power, Kyuubi." 'I don't want your power _beast_' came to mind, but he decided against tempting the monster's temper.

The rumbling laughter returned. "**Don't you, brat? I have been privy to your innermost thoughts since you were old enough to have them. Power is all you desire in this world, boy. The power to crush all of your enemies and leave them dead at your feet. The power to defend your so-called friends.**" The fox bared its teeth in a grotesque imitation of a grin. "**The power to **_**survive**_**.**"

Naruto looked to his feet. He knew the fox was right. The past four years of his life had been spent trying to get stronger in what often seemed to be a futile attempt to survive against what were likely S-ranked shinobi after his life. Power was all that mattered to them, so it had become almost all that mattered to Naruto.

"**I offer you all the power you would need and more. Power beyond what you had previously thought capable would be at your disposal. The very ability to crush those who would see you dead would be at your very fingertips,**" the Kyuubi said, its gravelly voice pouring golden honey into Naruto's ears.

Naruto's eyes clouded with doubt. There was little to refute the beast's claims, for Naruto indeed _had_ been witness to the very power the beast spoke of. Having a source of chakra that would never run dry and which could boost his own abilities beyond anything humanly possible certainly wasn't a bad thing, especially given the very people who Naruto sought to destroy were so far beyond him.

It would be like the ultimate trump card.

Still though, he was wary.

"And if I say no?" he asked, his voice betraying the fact that he _wouldn't_, in fact, say no. it was a question asked simply for the sake of it.

The beast's head moved up and down in what could pass for a shrug. It imitated human idiosyncrasies quite well. "**Imagine that same power you would deny turned against you,**" it said simply. Naruto looked up sharply. "**That old man you bow to made you well aware of our relationship. My chakra passes through this seal and into you. You know this, so know that everything you hold dear, those very skills you bled for, can be taken from you on a whim. Know that everything you pride yourself on exists at **_**my**_** tolerance.**"

Naruto did what little he could in order to maintain his decorum, but was failing miserably. He knew that the Kyuubi's chakra passed through the seal, the Sandaime had told him as much, but he hadn't thought that the fox would be able to do anything with it once it left the seal. Even taken forcibly from the Kyuubi, it made sense that the beast would still be able to exert some control over its power. Much like how genjutsu allowed for ninja to use their chakra to manipulate their target's while in their own body.

Naruto nodded in acceptance of the beast's point. He certainly didn't want what the fox was describing.

"And if I accept your _deal_," he stressed the last word with regained nerve and emphasis. "What you receive in return? Nothing like what you're proposing is free." '_Not from a being like you_' went unspoken.

The fox did not smile, though Naruto could sense that the biju was pleased. "**In return, I ask two things.**" Naruto nodded hesitantly. That sounded rather reasonable.

"**Firstly: that you would use the power gifted to you whenever necessary. You and I both know that when you die, I get dragged with you.**" An audible note of rage colored the fox's voice at this. "**I have no wish for that to happen before absolutely necessary. You know about this…**_**seal**_**,**" the beast spat the word seal like a curse, "**…from that man whom you bow to. Your own chakra reinforces it unconsciously, unless otherwise occupied.**" When Naruto looked up, askance as the beast's threat from earlier played over in his mind, the Kyuubi cut him off before he even got going, "**Do not presume that I cannot follow through, **_**boy**_**, merely that it would be difficult.**" The fox pinned him with a piercing stare. "**I believe neither you nor I wish for it to come to that**," it growled.

Naruto nodded once more. He most certainly _didn't_ wish to have the beast's power turned against him.

He had planned to use the power anyway, though he would only use the chakra as a last resort. Despite the obvious boons, there were also drawbacks that the beast had smoothly ignored. He knew that youki was poisonous to humans in large enough quantities – he had done some serious research on the biju after his secret had been revealed to him – and he had no wish to poison himself if he didn't have to.

"Accepted," was all he said in return.

"**The second is a man by the name of Uchiha Madara.**" Naruto started at the name, though it had been mentioned once before. The fox nodded. "**Yes, you've heard of him. I want him dead, boy, and painfully so. Since I cannot do this from my current lodgings, the task falls to you. It shouldn't present much of a problem, as you were already planning to kill him.**"

When Naruto opened his mouth, a question on the tip of his tongue, the fox interrupted once more.

"**Information about **_**that**_** man will be revealed to you in due time, though there is little you need to know about him other than his rule over a group of humans who called themselves Uchiha, and that his chakra was more sinister than even my own.**" The Kyuubi shook its head. "**My relationship with that man is **_**not**_** to be questioned. Is that clear?**"

Naruto kept his silence as he pondered the deal; of course the sentiment was clear. He didn't question the Kyuubi's hatred of Madara, at least not openly. It was likely a sore subject filled with residual anger that Naruto wanted no part of. A small bubble of humor threatened to well up in him as he envisioned some embarrassing history between the two. The Kyuubi had obviously come out the loser in whatever conflict they had had.

The humor disappeared as soon as it had hit. That familiar bubble of fear, the one he had ruthlessly tried to crush over the years, when he thought of the man who was likely the mastermind behind Akatsuki's plot against him, rose up once more. If the man was good enough to get the better of the _Kyuubi_ of all things…

Naruto didn't want to think about the kind of power at the man's disposal.

The boy's mind returned to the deal he and the fox were striking when another blast of hot air struck him in the face. The beast was impatient, it seemed.

It was a good deal, almost _too _good.

It wasn't about to stop him though, and the fox had said itself that it didn't want Naruto dead. There was no drawback to that.

Still, there was one sticking point. "With your power, I want to make sure that my mind isn't overshadowed like it was at first on the bridge. I need to be in control of my own body."

The fox hesitated for a moment, but nodded its head in acceptance. "**Agreed, boy. Do we have a deal?**"

Naruto took a deep breath, hesitating once more in the face of a choice that would likely change his life. He consoled himself with the knowledge that this power would allow him to better survive, a goal he had been working toward for years now.

If he had to, he would simply refrain from using the beast's power. With any luck, he would be able to properly avoid Akatsuki for a few years to come. That would hopefully be enough time to get to an acceptable level where he could at least hold his own. He would use the fox's power then, and only then.

Besides, it wasn't like he would be up against similarly powerful opponents anytime soon. A and S-ranked shinobi didn't grow on trees.

Resolve hardened to determination in Naruto's mind, and a single nod happened almost of its own accord.

"We have a deal."

The Kyuubi simply nodded.

Deep within the mind of the biju, hidden from Naruto by a force of will sharpened over a millennia, the fox smiled.

/~/

"So…what exactly does that mean?"

Naruto sighed for what seemed to be the thousandth time that day. It had been an unspoken, unanimous decision to stay and help with the cleanup effort after the battle on the bridge, despite the searing grief Team Ten was in. "It was what Asuma would have wanted," had been the rationale.

The previous day had been cleaning up the mess at the bridge – the majority of the city's population had turned out to help, not that Team Ten truly cared. The idea behind it, though unspoken, was to keep the minds of the genin off Asuma's death. Unfortunately, with the general population doing most of the work, it left Team Ten with nothing to do but sit, think, and talk.

That, of course, led to Naruto fielding questions about his mysterious near transformation back on the bridge, as the genin certainly had no wish to think or talk about what had happened to Asuma. The man's death would be an open wound for some time to come.

There had been more than a little residual fear of Naruto in his two teammates, rightfully so – it wasn't everyday that your blond friend went on a rampage. The fear had only disappeared when Naruto had sought to clear up the mess, assuring them that he was, in fact, completely in control of the power he had shown at the bridge.

It wasn't a lie, but they were still understandably wary. Somewhat optimistically, he noticed that they were far more contemplative than wary.

Having no wish to either deceive his friends or beat around the bush, Naruto had taken the direct route, outright stating that he housed the Kyuubi and that the beast's chakra flowing into his system had caused the minor and major changes his team had seen in him. It had been silent in the room for nearly a quarter of an hour since, only now broken by Kiba's question.

Naruto didn't exactly have high hopes about his friends' reactions, but they seemed to be taking the news well, all things considered.

"It means exactly what I said," Naruto said with a long suffering note in his voice. "The Kyuubi is sealed in my chakra system, and I have some limited access to its chakra and mind. Nothing more, nothing less."

Kiba was silent once more, the dog ninja scratching the ears of his partner in contemplation. Naruto didn't much care about the silence, it was certainly better than any screaming that might have originally resulted from his friends in his opinion.

He would be patient; this wasn't something that could be rushed, as he knew from his own experience. He had taken the better part of a sleepless night to come to terms with what the Yondaime had done to him, and he still had lingering questions, unanswerable questions, whirling about in his mind even now.

"How?" Ino asked softly. "How could someone _actually_ do something like that?" the girl mumbled ambiguously, more to herself than to anyone else. Naruto remained silent as the girl met his eyes for the first time in twenty minutes. He held her gaze for what felt like an eternity, silently trying to convey the message that he was the same Naruto from three days ago; that nothing had changed in him; that he was the same Naruto that Ino knew.

He didn't bother trying to answer the girl's question.

After a few more minutes of oppressive silence, Naruto spoke once more. "From what little I know, there's no real way to kill a biju. They're chakra constructs given form through excessive human emotion. It's only possible to seal their chakra someplace." A sigh escaped his lips once more. "I just happened to be that someplace."

"Do you know why?" Ino asked gently, far more gently than Naruto had ever heard her before. She seemed almost afraid that he would break if she spoke too loudly.

"No." Naruto shook his head. "The Sandaime probably has some idea, but if he does, he won't tell me. To my knowledge, I was just born in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"But how can he not _tell_ you?" Ino burst out. Naruto nearly jumped at the intensity in the girl's voice. Kiba looked up sharply from where he had been petting Akamaru. "I mean, it's your life, right? Who has more right to know than you?" she asked incredulously.

_I've been asking myself that for months_. "It's his decision," was the simple answer. He had long tried to rationalize the Sandaime's silence about both his condition and how it came to be, and that was the best he had come up with. The Hokage could do what he wished. Naruto simply had to live with it.

"Bullshit!" Ino was pacing now. It was a habit of hers whenever she got worked up. Naruto and Kiba shared a quick, unsure glance. "He has no right to keep something like that from you!"

Naruto weathered the girl's anger with stoicism he hadn't known he possessed. "It wasn't about what was right, Ino, it's about security. For all I know, I could have some nearly extinct bloodline that genetically predisposes me to holding the fox." Naruto's tone clearly suggested that he didn't think that was the case. "It's exactly why he didn't tell me about the fox until just recently too. Having known me when I was younger, do you think it would have been a good idea to tell me about something like that?" He let the rhetoric sit for a few moments. Of course it wouldn't have been a good idea! "The same principle applies to this."

"And you just roll with that?" Kiba raised an eyebrow. The dog boy had been surprisingly quiet about the whole thing, preferring to let Naruto explain and Ino ask questions to this point.

Naruto shrugged. "There's not too much I can do about it, really. I try not to think about it for the most part, preferring to just do what I can about what I can actually control." Naruto neglected to mention that this was only a recent attitude adjustment. "The info is distributed on a need to know basis only. It's why I didn't tell you guys straight out."

"So why does the whole village need to know?" Ino asked harshly, though it wasn't directed at Naruto, only the situation. The girl had unknowingly echoed one of Naruto's more frustrating questions from when he had first learned of the Kyuubi. "I assume that this is why you get all those stares back home?"

Naruto nodded as he met the Yamanaka's eyes. "Some people found out early on, and Sarutobi let the rest know so as not to start a mass panic due to a rumor. He created a law that made letting anyone in the younger generation in on the secret, myself included, punishable by death."

"S-class," Ino and Kiba murmured at the same time. Naruto gave each of them a nod.

Ino finally finished her pacing, whatever anger she had had either spent or reserved for later. Kiba had shifted back to playing with Akamaru. Naruto glanced at both of his teammates in turn, inwardly shocked and nervous at the lack of reaction they were having. Aside from the conversation, both Ino and Kiba seemed to be moving on like things were the same as ever.

"That's it?" the blond asked with trepidation. Both his teammates looked to him in surprise.

"What's it?" Kiba asked in confusion.

"This!" Naruto flailed his arms about, gesticulating wildly at the room and their group. "I expected a bit more of a…reaction," he finished. Of all of the scenarios Naruto had envisioned, calm acceptance was at the bottom of the "most likely to happen" list.

Kiba and Ino shared a quick glance, each a bit surprised at Naruto's outburst, but neither confused about it. They knew enough about their teammate to know that he led less than an ideal life back in Konoha, and that it was mostly due to the citizens who subtly ostracized him, even in front of their own eyes.

"Well," Ino started calmly. "It doesn't really change anything, now does it? You're still Naruto, right?" The Yamanaka shrugged. "You've had this thing for longer than we've been a team, so it's not like it's some recent change."

Naruto nodded hesitantly, not quite believing the words coming from his female teammate.

"What did you expect?" Kiba asked with an all too familiar smirk. "Give us some damn credit."

"We're not like them, Naruto," Ino stated. No explanation for who "them" was was needed.

Naruto sat back, his back pressing into the thin plaster walls of Tazuna's house. The boy barely kept a radiant smile from splitting his face as his teammates' acceptance washed over him. He had no idea of what to say, so he simply kept silent.

"You are still a dick, though," Kiba warned. Naruto snorted loudly, as did Ino, though the girl couldn't stop herself from smacking the back of Kiba's head.

The group degenerated into silence once more, each absorbed in their own thoughts. It wasn't a common state of inertia for Team Ten; they usually bickered in order to fill the silence, rather than think about their options.

Now, however, it was almost a given that they would be absorbed in their own thoughts. Three days ago, their sensei had been cut down, and none would deny the fact that they were more than a little lost without Asuma there to guide them.

"We're gonna have to move," Kiba said, uncharacteristically subdued. "We have to go back home sometime."

"Agreed," said Naruto. "Our mission objective is done. Tazuna's in no more danger now that Gatou's dead. Asuma needs to be brought back too," he finished, a small stutter at his sensei's name the only inflection in his voice.

Ino and Kiba nodded along with him. Neither was particularly willing to stay longer than necessary, the mission's completeness tasting like ashes in their mouths given the loss they sustained. It was a pyrrhic victory at best, and even then, the victory on the bridge hardly felt like anything resembling success. In the minds of Team Ten, the mission to Wave Country had been an unmitigated disaster.

Naruto's eyes flickered over to the lone storage scroll laying gently upon one of the pillows in the bedroom now shared by all three Team Ten members. It was impossible to believe that just three days ago, the team had been full, happy, if dysfunctional, and perfectly willing to believe in their own superiority.

Now, they were broken, the two parts of their sensei locked away in a storage scroll for easy transport back to Konoha.

It was in that instant that Naruto made up his mind.

"Pack up," he ordered. "We're leaving."

Ino and Kiba stared at him for one long moment, before they began gathering their belongings without question.

No explanation was offered; none was needed.

It had taken Team Ten five days to get from Konoha to Wave, but that was with Tazuna slowing them down. Without him, at full pace, the genin trio could make the journey in under eighteen hours. At full pace with linked Shunshins interspersed in the running, that time could be cut down to twelve. It was not yet eleven o'clock in the morning. Naruto planned to be back in Konoha by midnight.

He was getting the fuck out of this Kami forsaken country.

The team was packed and ready to go within twenty minutes of Naruto's unheralded order. The last bit to be packed was the storage scroll holding Asuma. The blond boy gently placed it in his back pack, right on top, fighting the urge to both cry and laugh at the fact that he was, quite literally, be carrying his sensei home.

_What the fuck is wrong with me?_ he thought as he stifled a small chuckle.

Ino's light touch on his shoulder shook him from his thoughts, and he followed his two teammates out of the bedroom and down the stairs.

Tazuna's family was sitting quietly in their kitchen, all three members wearing black out of respect for the man who had taken their plight upon his shoulders with no prompting, and had paid the price with his life. Tsunami rose as the three genin entered, but said nothing as they passed through without a word. Even the normally expressive Inari, who had become far more positive in the wake of Gatou's death, had nothing to say.

The genin trio was halfway to the tree line surrounding the humble abode when Tazuna's voice rang out from behind them.

"Thank you," was shouted across the clearing, causing the three genin to turn as one to face the bridge builder. Regret was written over the man's face like it had never been before, true sorrow for what the ninja –children even – had been put through as a result of his actions. He made to say more, but choked on his words. "Thank you so much," was all he managed, voice cracking as he turned his gaze to the ground, unable or unwilling to meet the eyes of Team Ten.

The trio said nothing as they turned as one to the tree line, disappearing from the bridge builder's view as Shunshin carried them away from Wave Country in a burst of speed and chakra.

/~/

**AN: Well, a little later than I had hoped, but then, I contracted the services of dark lord potter (dot) net in order to better write this chapter. Many thanks to the gang over there who greatly helped with this chapter. It would be far less polished without their assistance. To all of those who haven't yet checked out the site, I encourage you to do so. It has possibly the largest collection of high quality stories in fanfiction, and people who actually know what they're doing when it comes to writing. Many a great fic has come out of there. That said, it's a no nonsense site, and you should probably take an injection of skin thickener before you go looking to post. They can be pretty unforgiving.  
**

**Obligatory DLP propaganda finished, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. I'm not entirely sure when the next one will be up, but I'm hoping to find time during my Mid-years to write.**

**The response the last chapter garnered was downright scary. 109 reviews! Thanks a lot.**

**Till next time,**

**I'm so pro.  
**


	9. Chapter 8: Better to Honor

Disclaimer: I own Naruto.

/~/

Eyes the color of slate peered over steeped fingers, silently regarding the three children in front of him.

_No_, he corrected himself internally, though his thoughts were clouded. _They're far from children now_.

Even now, the three sets of eyes staring at the ground in front of them were shadowed. Haunted even. It was never a look that should belong on those their age. He knew without looking in a mirror that his eyes held the same quality.

It wasn't every day you learned you had lost a son.

Unbidden, a lone tear left Sarutobi's right eye. It was quickly removed faster than the eye could blink. He couldn't allow himself to show emotion; not here, not now. He was Hokage. He had troops to lead.

The oppressive silence that hung in the Hokage's office after Naruto had related Team Ten's tale could have been cut with a kunai.

A single sigh escaped the Sandaime, the quiet exclamation being almost deafening in the circular office. "Is that all?" he questioned quietly, voice held steady by an unfathomable force of will.

Nods from two thirds of the team greeted him, while Naruto spoke, "Yes, Hokage-sama." His voice was nearly monotonous, lacking inflection and devoid of emotion.

Not for the first time that day did Sarutobi wish to have the smiling, never ending ball of energy that had once been Uzumaki Naruto back. Despite coping with his own grief over the news of his son's demise, the old man couldn't help but be saddened by the loss of innocence that these shinobi – children, really – had suffered. Naruto especially. Both of his teammates had families to go home to, people to help them cope with the loss of a sensei.

Naruto had no one.

At one time, he might have had the Sandaime to go to with his problems, but hehad voluntarily distanced himself from the Hokage years before.

That, however, was likely for the best. Naruto would need to be able to handle his own problems down the road, and he wouldn't always have the aged Hokage's protection. Even if he did, Sarutobi likely wouldn't have been much of a help to the boy, given that he himself was having to cope with the loss of his second son in silence.

Not for the first time, Sarutobi reflected on his position. _The Hokage's hat truly is a curse_, he lamented.

In a world where coincidences were heralded as myth, the sad state of affairs that was the Hokage's position could only be considered one. Over time, all the families and clans who had held the seat of Hokage had been whittled down to one. Sarutobi's wayward student was the last of the once great Senju clan, its patriarchs the very founding fathers of the village he now watched over. The last in the Namikaze line, once proud, though small and unheralded until the Yondaime made his mark on the world, sat in front of him, his voice betraying nothing.

Sarutobi himself had outlived his wife, his first son, and now his second. He would be damned before he outlived his grandson.

A single, solemn nod served as Team Ten's dismissal, and the three made for the wooden double doors that led to the rest of the Administrative Building.

"Naruto," the Sandaime called. His voice served to halt the whole team in their tracks. The boy in question turned to regard him, face still expressionless. "I would like a word."

The blond nodded before turning to his teammates, both of whom looked at him expectantly. "Go on. I'll catch up with you later." The other two genin departed without a word, taking his direction without question.

"Hokage-sama?" the boy asked, clearly puzzled though he didn't show it.

"Sit down, Naruto-kun." The boy did as ordered. A weary sigh escaped the aged leader once more, and Naruto couldn't help but notice how frail the old man looked. For all of his life, the Sandaime had been a larger than life figure, thanks in no small part to the role the man had played in his own upbringing. Now though, he looked like just another elderly man, weathered and made weary by the passage of time around him.

Without warning, a cat masked ANBU appeared from nowhere, materializing in between the Hokage and Naruto without a word. A single scroll was placed on Sarutobi's desk, and the man disappeared just as suddenly as he had come, a slight nod being all the prompting he had needed.

Naruto blinked as the man disappeared. Crisp, clean, and professional. The boy gave an absent nod in acknowledgment.

"Right on time, as always," the Hokage remarked, seemingly pleased with the ANBU, though his face remained set in stone. Naruto silently marveled at the emotional control the man had. He had just learned that his son was dead not thirty minutes ago, and he was functioning almost as if it was business as usual. The only evidence of his emotional turmoil was the weariness of his expression, and the genin had little doubt that it could be hidden if the man so chose.

The scroll was pushed to the side, and the old man turned his attention to Naruto.

"I'd ask you how you are feeling, but I know from experience that that is not a question anyone wishes to answer when they're grieving."

Naruto almost smiled in response to the not-quite-a-question. He knew exactly what the Sandaime was asking. "I'm…dealing with it," he began hesitantly, somewhat unsure of his own feelings on the matter. For the entirety of Team Ten's journey from Wave, he had been doing his best not to think about his dead sensei, only succeeding in doing the exact opposite.

It hadn't helped that he had literally been carrying the man's body in his backpack. Naruto had been more than relieved to pass it off to the ANBU Squad that had met and escorted them the last ten miles back to Konoha.

Over and over again on the way back to the village, Asuma's advice about how to deal with his situation with his level of power played out in his mind.

_"You'd do well to stop dwelling on it," Asuma began. "There's not much you can change about your situation in regards to other ninja, so you can only focus on getting yourself better."_

Though mostly unrelated, the same principle applied to his situation now. Asuma was dead, no matter how painful it was to have to acknowledge it, and there was absolutely nothing that he could do about it now. However callous it was, Naruto knew that there was little use in dwelling on it. As much as he hated to admit it, there was little more that he could have done on the bridge in order to help his sensei. Yes, he could have better restrained Haku – he knew that he wouldn't be making _that_ mistake again – but there was little else. Missions went to hell all the time, events spiraling out of control faster than a person could blink. More often than not, people ended up dead because of small details that no one had any right to expect would mean anything, and the survivors were left to pick up the pieces.

Frankly, if he was honest with himself, the thing that he was most upset with was the fact that he was managing to move on so quickly. He had accepted quickly that there was little he could have done to save Asuma, and dwelling on it now accomplished nothing. It was this almost calm acceptance that disturbed him. Naruto had never lost anyone close to him before – he hadn't had anyone to really lose – and he knew that most people were almost inconsolable when they lost a loved one.

He felt detached from it all, once the initial pain had faded somewhere between Wave and Konoha,a dn it scared him. Despite his recent dealings with the demon in his stomach, he still maintained his fear of someday becoming like the monster. Unfeeling acceptance of the death of someone he cared about was straying close to his mental "danger zone", much like detached killing.

There was no doubt that he'd miss Asuma, but he wasn't about to start weeping again. It seemed unnatural, and he didn't like it.

"I'm dealing with it," Naruto said resolutely once more. The Sandaime regarded him carefully, scrutinizing his face with a penetrating gaze, before offering Naruto his own nod.

"The loss of one's sensei is never easy to deal with," Naruto realized that the old man was speaking from experience, "and we can only move forward, doing our best to live how they would have wanted us to." The Sandaime glanced out the window and over his village. "I called you back for a few reasons."

Slate eyes locked with blue, now greyer than they had once been.

"Firstly, I want you to know that I don't hold you accountable for what happened. Such things happen on missions far more than I would like, but I have little doubt that the events that transpired were out of your control."

Naruto leaned back in his chair, relieved despite himself. The notion that the Sandaime might blame him for his son's death had occurred to Naruto, but he hadn't paid it much heed, so wrapped up he was in his own mental turmoil. There was no doubt that the Hokage could have laid the blame at his feet. That he didn't had lifted an unknown burden from his shoulders.

"Secondly, I would offer you a warning," the Hokage said. The man's face was as serious as it had been the night Naruto learned of his tenant, and the blond had little doubt about what this would be about.

_Ah_…

"You spoke freely about how you channeled the Kyuubi's chakra in the battle between yourself and Zabuza," the old man spoke. "Despite the obvious boons the power offers you, be cautious with its use. I doubt I need to warn you about the detrimental effects that chakra can have on your body."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Naruto said, his innermost thoughts in uproar as he fought the urge to tell the man about his deal with the fox. For obvious reasons, he had left the details of his conversation with the demon out of his report, and he now struggled with the idea of withholding information from the Hokage.

Naruto had no doubt that the Hokage would find a way to seal off the beast from Naruto completely, for his own good of course. He couldn't allow for that to happen. That power was to be his trump card, and he wasn't about to let it go. Not only would it help save his own life down the road, but it would be invaluable if he ever encountered an enemy far enough beyond his own skill level. The lives of his team may depend on him, like they had on the bridge, and he would be damned if he let them die like Asuma had.

So he kept his silence.

"Thirdly, is this scroll." The old man gestured to the parchment that had been dropped off by the cat masked ANBU. Naruto blinked as the Hokage unfurled it without flourish, letting the seals inscribed on it be shown.

_A storage scroll?_ Naruto wondered. Why would an ANBU interrupt a meeting of the Hokage simply to drop off a simple storage scroll? Even as the question passed through his mind, the answer came unbidden to him. The Hokage confirmed it not a moment later.

"These are…personal effects retrieved from Asuma," the Hokage finally betrayed some emotion as his son's personal effects were laid in front of him, his voice breaking ever so slightly. The hitch was gone almost as soon as it had arrived, repressed by an iron will born of decades of hard choices and emotional turmoil.

Naruto felt his already enormous respect for the old man go up, even as raw emotions played out in his psyche.

The Hokage bit his thumb and pressed it to the first of the storage seals inscribed on the scroll. A slight application of chakra and a puff of smoke heralded the appearance of Asuma's famous trench knives. Naruto stared down at his sensei's signature weapons, somewhat surprised to see them there, though he had been expecting them.

"May I?" he asked quietly. Asuma had been rather anal about who touched his favorite blades, and Naruto had only gotten his hands on them twice before.

The Hokage nodded with a slight smile. "Of course, they're yours now." At Naruto's startled look, Sarutobi nodded, the smile still playing across his face. "Oh yes."

Naruto was unsure of how to respond. He had never even imagined that he would receive the prized knuckle knives his sensei had been so proud of. He had thought they would go to the Hokage, or at the least reserved for Asuma's nephew, Sarutobi Konohamaru.

"But-" he began, only to trail off. He didn't quite know how to phrase his confusion, and it wasn't like he didn't _want_ the knives. Quite the contrary really. He just wasn't used to receiving gifts, of any sort.

The Hokage shrugged with a sigh. "I certainly have no use for them, Naruto-kun, and my grandson doesn't have the patience to learn my son's art. I'm sure Asuma would have wanted for you to have them, rather than have them gather dust in my estate as some token memento."

Naruto almost chuckled. That sounded like something his sensei would have said. Now that he was actively listening for it, he could see where Asuma had gotten some of his speech patterns, though he doubted the man would have ever admitted it.

He still felt awkward about receiving the knives, but he wasn't about to fight it. Asuma had been training him in the wielding of double blades for months. He wasn't about to turn down the opportunity to use such high quality blades, regardless of how it came to be. As long as the old man was okay with it, he would be too.

It would be like keeping a piece of his sensei with him at all times. The thought almost brought a chuckle to his lips. _God, I'm such a fucking sap_.

Naruto reached forward confidently, grasping the twin blades in both hands, fingers coiling around the weathered leather that cushioned the handles. Unbidden, he felt his chakra begin to seep into the blades. A quick moment of concentration later, his chakra was changed to wind, and identical three foot, nigh invisible blades had sprung from the knives.

"Impressive," Sarutobi praised. And it was; such high level elemental manipulation was almost unheard of in genin. _It appears you weren't exaggerating when you said he had talent, Asuma-kun_. Truly, his son's favored student had far more skill than Sarutobi had originally given him credit for – the Hokage took all reports with a healthy grain of salt. It was a pleasant surprise on a day filled with naught but sorrow.

Without saying a word, Naruto retracted the wind chakra, idly noticing how much easier it was to do on specially designed blades, rather than common kunai. He pocketed the knives in silence, making a mental note to have a holster made for them. Asuma had had them clipped to his belt at all times, but Naruto didn't wish to have them hanging out in the open.

"Is there anything else?" Naruto asked numbly, for that was the best way to describe his voice.

The boy thought he might have caught a small grimace on the Hokage's face, but it was gone far too fast to properly tell.

"From my son, there is not," Sarutobi said. He applied another small burst of chakra to the opened scroll on the desk. "From Konoha and Kirigakure, there is."

Naruto raised an eyebrow in confusion, though he knew of what the Hokage spoke. Against what he would have liked – he would have preferred to simply burn the bodies – the corpses of Zabuza and Haku had been sealed in scrolls, much like Asuma's, in order to be brought back to Konoha. Surprisingly – though perhaps not so much, considering his family greatly populated the Hunter-nin corps – Kiba had come up with the idea, stating that both money and secrets could be obtained from the bodies of dead ninja. Both Naruto and Ino had wanted no part of ferrying the bodies of their sensei's killers back to Konoha, but had eventually been swayed by the logic that they might as well make a profit off of their dead enemies.

It was cold, but Naruto could think of nothing more fitting than having Zabuza's body diced up and its secrets unlocked.

The only issue was the Zabuza's head, the remnants of it being naught but paste that had been cleaned off the bridge by Tazuna's workers. To the best of his knowledge, one could only claim the bounty of a person if they had incontrovertible proof of the kill. The head was not the only way, but the easiest and most common way of doing so.

With the head gone, it became far more difficult to identify the body, and, despite the Hokage not doubting Naruto, the boy thought Kiri might be a tad more skeptical of a genin killing a feared jonin.

_Ah…_ The thought struck him like a sledgehammer. "The sword," was all he said.

Sarutobi nodded, not stating outright but looking pleased with Naruto's quick deduction. "Indeed. The Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shu were as renowned for their signature blades as they were for their shinobi skills and brutality. The only way the Mist Seven would have relinquished one of their blades was, and is, in death," Sarutobi said, voice hard. He had a healthy respect and dislike for what had once been one of the most influential shinobi organizations on the continent. That one of its members had killed his last son had only heightened both aspects of his opinion. "Kubikiribocho will serve as all the proof Kirigakure will need of Zabuza's death."

Naruto nodded hesitantly, digesting the information with a grimace and just a touch of pride. Regardless of the circumstances, he had managed to kill a famous ninja, a jonin. A smirk that was entirely inappropriate, given the situation, threatened to break across his face. He might even get a spot in one of Kiri's Bingo Books. The thought very much appealed to the childish, attention-seeking side of him that had dominated his psyche when he had been younger.

Beyond that, however, laid vindication of the sweetest sort.

_"Until your names appear in my bingo book, you're not real shinobi in my mind."_

_Who's the real shinobi now, Zabuza?_ Naruto thought with relish. With Zabuza's death confirmed, Naruto would likely take a spot in that very Bingo Book the Demon of the Mist has held in such high esteem.

"…the appropriate sum will be deposited in your account," the Hokage was saying, unaware of Naruto's inner thoughts. "The price on the boy's head, while far lower than the one on his master's, will be supplemented by the amount Konoha pays for new bloodlines and information about them. It will be at a reduced rate, of course, as the boy is dead, and split among your team."

Naruto nodded absently, inwardly thanking Kiba to the heavens for the financial windfall he was about to experience. It wouldn't bring Asuma back, but it was nice to have either way.

The Sandaime sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. "Lastly, Naruto-kun, I wish for you to know that my door is always open to you. Should you have any questions, about anything, please do not hesitate in asking me."

Naruto nodded once more, this time with a small smile on his face. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

A silence hung in the air for a few moments, before Naruto stood fluidly. He was inwardly pleased with the meeting, despite its source.

There was no doubt in his mind that Asuma's death would weigh heavily on him for some time, but there was no use in dwelling on it. He would do as the Sandaime said, doing his best to live as Asuma would have wanted him to.

He would protect his home.

With no prompting necessary, Naruto gave a low bow to the Hokage, and exited the office.

Sarutobi watched the boy leave with a contemplative expression. A small smile graced his features finally, seeing the resolve formed in the boy through his eyes. The boy still had a heart despite the hardship he had gone through as a boy.

Thoughts of his dead son filled his mind for a single moment before being shunted to the side once more. He would have time to grieve after one last bit of business.

A single hand seal was formed, and Sarutobi only had to wait five full seconds before the cat masked ANBU from before materialized from the floor in front of him.

"Hokage-sama?"

Hiruzen waved a hand. "At ease." The man stood fluidly, posture relaxed though still at attention. Sarutobi almost smiled at the crisp professionalism. _Kakashi trained him well_, he mused.

"Remove your mask Tenzo, I have a new assignment for you."

/~/

Naruto had learned from a young age that the cosmos – the heavens to some, the Gods to others – cared little for the day to day affairs of men. Whoever had created the universe had certainly left it to its own devices, and didn't bother with any one man, no matter how many religious sects argued otherwise.

It was for this reason that Naruto didn't bat an eye at the bright sun beating down on the back of his head and neck, while many black clad figures at the funeral seemed to regard the weather with resentment. His own teammates could be included in that, as more than once he had caught both Kiba and Ino sneaking a glare upwards, almost as if they thought the weather was mocking them and their loss.

Naruto knew better.

Whatever higher power that existed didn't care when one man died. It certainly hadn't cared for a lonely orphan growing up oppressed by a disgruntled populace.

A glance to his left heralded a stone faced Kiba, the dog ninja in a desperate struggle with himself to hold in whatever tears he had. A glance to his right showed Ino, who had lost that same struggle, tear tracks lining her face as the Sandaime made the eulogy.

"…for some, it was a cherished friend taken from our midst. For others, it was a comrade in arms. I myself lost a son, my grandson, an uncle, while three of our brightest young flames lost their sensei…"

Naruto steeled himself, forcing his body not to shift an iota as he felt the gaze of at least a hundred people bore into his back. Such were the perils of being at the front of the precession. He and his team were given the honor of standing at the front, next to Sarutobi Konohamaru and many of the Sandaime's personal associates. The three of them had each been offered the chance to speak, but each had turned it down. Kiba and Ino had been worried about speaking in front of a huge crown, both not confident in doing their sensei justice. Naruto's reservations had been similar, though he was more preoccupied with thoughts of how a crowd of two hundred people, many of them civilians, would react to his presence up on the podium. He knew that no one would try anything, but he didn't particularly feel like fielding the no doubt massive amount of glares that would come with his speech. He had enough to deal with on a regular basis anyway.

That was one result of the botched mission to Wave Country that Naruto just couldn't get over. While there was scarcely a good anything that came from that mission, the villagers' attitude toward him had only gotten even more ridiculous. He hadn't been liked before, but the vast majority had ignored him in favor of doing far more useful and productive things, like living their lives. Now, though, it seemed like things were back to how they were in his pranking days. He couldn't walk down a street without having to deal with the resentment of at least a dozen different people.

They, somehow, managed to blame him for the death of Asuma, one of the most respected jonin in the village and the Sandaime's son.

He supposed that it shouldn't have really come as a surprise. Any bad outcome that happened on any mission he happened to be a part of would inevitably reflect back on him, if only because of the Kyuubi. Heavens forbid that blame actually fall on the guilty party – Zabuza in this case. While Naruto had played a small part in the Asuma's death, by failing to properly restrain Haku, the Sandaime had managed to forgive the boy his mistake, and that was all that was needed in Naruto's mind. The rest of the world meant nothing if Sarutobi didn't hold the genin accountable, general will of the populace be damned.

Still, he would miss being an almost nonentity in the village, as he had been before the news of Asuma's death had been made public. With the reversion of his pranking, most of the villagers had stopped paying attention to the blond, opting to give him wide berths and nothing more. Now, they were all back to their old, charming selves.

A scowl crossed his face at the remembrance of the many harsh looks he had been receiving recently. He had made a promise to himself and to the Sandaime to live how Asuma would have wanted him to, and his sensei would have wanted him to protect the village he himself had served and died for. Already, that goal was becoming far harder in Naruto's mind.

The irony of the situation wasn't lost on the boy. For the majority of his "pre-ten" years, he had done everything in his power to have the people of Konoha notice him, for better or worse. Now, all he wanted was quiet anonymity.

Sometime between the spaces of his thoughts, the Sandaime had finished with his speech, and the crowd was making its way to the casket to pay their final respects to the fallen jonin before the body was incinerated.

Having been caught up in his thoughts, Naruto missed his cue to move, and had to hurry to catch the procession. As he moved, his eyes caught the obsidian pupils of his first friend – Sasuke and the rest of the rookie genin teams having come to pay their respects – and the boy offered him a nod of respect. Naruto returned it quickly, though a bit hesitantly. He could safely say that he could finally understand where Sasuke was coming from with his thought of revenge toward his brother. He might never have the red hot rage that Sasuke held toward Uchiha Itachi – his rage had died with Zabuza and Gatou, replaced by a cold anger directed more at the situation than anything else – but he could completely sympathize with the would-be avenger.

The need to see Zabuza dead had brought on Naruto's Kyuubi induced rage. The stray thought of what might have become of Uchiha Itachi had Sasuke been unfortunate enough to bear the Kyuubi struck him as he grasped a white rose from the pile. Naruto doubted that there would be much left of the nuke-nin.

The thought was banished as quickly as it had come. _Pull yourself together, Naruto, you're at a goddamn funeral_, he thought viciously.

And yet, despite being at the funeral of the man who had been his sensei, friend, mentor, and the closest thing to a father figure he would probably ever have, Naruto couldn't bring himself to share the same melancholy as the rest of the procession. There was no doubt that he would miss his sensei, but he had come to terms with the fact that Asuma had died on his own terms, despite its abruptness. He had willingly put himself at risk for the people of Wave, and he had paid for it.

Death was a shinobi's constant companion, never more than a step or two behind, and always waiting to lay a hand on your shoulder.

All thoughts fled Naruto's mind as he finally came face to face with his sensei for the final time.

The head had been stitched back to the neck, and all traces of blood and wounds had been removed by the medical examiner. It was standard protocol, so that the friends and family of the deceased could view their loved one for the last time before the body was cremated in order to preserve secrets.

Black hair had been slicked back, the goatee, somewhat scraggly in life, had been clipped and trimmed, and the standard hitai-ate had been polished to a glistening shine. His flak vest had been replaced with a new one, as had the sash of the Twelve Elite Guardians, along with the rest of his clothes. The only things missing were the trench knives he had been known for so well, and his customary cigarette.

It was crisp, clean, professional, all together very nice, and not at all like Asuma had been in life.

Though Naruto had accepted and come to terms with his sensei's death, seeing the man's corpse touched up and put on display was like a slap to the face and a punch to the stomach. It wasn't his sensei lying in that casket. It was just a body.

The blond spared the corpse one last glance as he dropped his flower onto the top of the pile unceremoniously, walking briskly off the raised platform. He passed a few people slowly making their way back to their seats or to places unknown, bumping past them without a care for decorum.

A hand on his right shoulder halted him in his tracks, and he turned abruptly, right hand slapping to his hip in a gesture that would have left a kunai in his hand had he been wearing his holster. As it was, he stilled his impulse to lash out at the offender as he came face to face with a pair of crimson eyes that reminded him oh so much of _him_.

For all his bravado, Naruto never looked directly into Sasuke's eyes during their spars, for fear of flashing back to _that _night. Where the last Uchiha held nothing but rage toward his elder brother, Naruto held fear. The fear of a man who's power had brought a once mighty clan to its death and had held him helpless effortlessly. A power that was, at its very core, built around crimson pupils.

But then, these weren't _his_ eyes. They were softer, far softer, and held a compassion and empathy Naruto didn't think Uchiha Itachi had ever been capable of.

Belatedly, Naruto realized that Yuhi Kurenai was speaking.

"…as much as I know you don't wish to hear it. They're all that I can offer you, Uzumaki-san, as well as an ear if you need one," she said, her voice a whisper while they were still in hearing range of the funeral.

Naruto nodded somewhat absently. "I…thank you, but I wouldn't want to waste your time," was all he managed. He wasn't entirely sure of what to say. It wasn't helped by the fact he had missed half of her statement.

A soft smile greeted the genin, and Naruto felt himself blushing a bit in spite of himself. Yuhi Kurenai was _stunning_.

"Of course, Uzumai-san –"

"Naruto, please."

" – Naruto-san then." The jonin paused for a moment, her eyes appraising. "But I'm sure that I could do far worse for company. Asuma always said as much. He was proud of you – all of you, really – but you most of all."

Naruto scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, the boy feeling awkward with the situation now more than ever. He wasn't used to overt praise, especially from a jonin.

"'Becoming a decent person isn't easy with your background', he said, but you managed it." The woman locked eyes with him knowingly. "Rising above our personal demons is never easy, especially the way you were forced to grow up. He was proud to say that you were someone he would trust with both his own life and those of the villagers, despite your past."

The word demon struck Naruto like a hammer blow, and he lowered his eyes, not able to meet the crimson pupils of his sensei's friend.

Guilt the likes of which Naruto hadn't felt before twisted his gut like a bayonet. Not fifteen minutes ago he had been disparaging the lives of the very people Asuma had sworn to protect, and the people whose lives were now entrusted to Naruto in his stead.

He forced it down, however, and spoke once more, "Why are you telling me this?" he asked quietly.

The jonin regarded him silently for a moment. "Because you should hear it. Asuma wasn't always one for direct praise, and you deserve to know what he thought of you."

Naruto nodded. "What…what was he to you?" he asked, glimpses of a conversation with Ino and Kiba coming back to him. For all he knew, she had lost as much as he had.

Kurenai stopped still for a second, before composing herself with barely visible effort.

"We were…friends, I suppose." She sighed. "Perhaps something more someday, but just friends really."

"Ah…" Naruto trailed off, not sure at all how to respond. She had lost as much as him, though she concealed it well. He had always been good at reading body language, and hers was screaming "discomfort" at him. While it could have just been the topic, the fact that she, a jonin, showed enough body language for Naruto to pick up on it hinted at something more. She and Asuma had been more than friends, whether it had been official or not; whether she would admit it or not.

"Thank you, Kurenai-sensei," he said formally, bringing the odd conversation to a close with a short bow. The jonin lowered her head to him slightly.

"I wish you well, Naruto-san," Kurenai said sincerely, earlier awkwardness forgotten, before turning on her heel and striding back toward the funeral and her team, raven hair swishing back and forth with every step.

Naruto watched her for a few moments before making his own exit, though moving in the opposite direction.

The genin turned his head skyward as he made his way through the village, thoughts of Asuma, Kurenai, and his own ambitions flittering through his head as the sun warmed his face.

More than anything, his thoughts remained on Kurenai's words, and the message they carried from his dead sensei. He had known that his sensei had respected his skills, he had proven that with what he had been teaching the twelve year old genin, but to hear such positive words about himself wasn't something he was used to. From what the pretty jonin had said, Asuma had trusted _him_ out of his three students to carry on his legacy.

Naruto knew full well that it was a legacy of selfless service to Konoha and Fire Country.

That, however, was the sticking point.

As much as Asuma had thought of him overcoming his demons, Naruto truly hadn't, either figuratively or literally, opting instead to push them to side to be dealt with later on. He had done so with the attitude of the villagers, and had shunted true introspective thought about his situation with the Kyuubi away in order to focus on the here and now. In his defense, he had a perfect reason to do so with the latter, but it wasn't really his style, in hindsight.

For his entire life, short though it was at present, he had been a go getter. Whether it had been through his pranks for attention, or his single minded attitude toward training to survive the threat of Akatsuki, Naruto had always been the aggressor, the one who tried to take his problems by the horns and wrestle them to the ground.

He hadn't done so with either of his personal demons. The situation with the villagers had been moved to the side in order to take a back seat to training, and Naruto had convinced himself that he didn't really care about what the general populace thought of him. Looking back, on both today and his life, he knew that this wasn't the case. Their attitude, their intransigence toward anything regarding him grated on him like nothing else.

That had to change. Or at least, he had to find a way to deal with it so it wouldn't interfere with his duty. If Asuma had entrusted him with his legacy of servitude to the village, personal feelings couldn't matter. As a shinobi, and as Asuma's student, he had a duty to serve, and he'd be damned if he didn't follow through on that.

That was a promise, and Naruto never broke his promises.

The Kyuubi issue was something else entirely, and something that Naruto would have to think long and hard on in order to deal with properly. He had no intention of giving up the power the demon had laid at his disposal, but he'd have to find a way to train and use it appropriately. Getting his friends killed because he was relying on instinct to use the chakra was something he wouldn't allow to happen, no matter the results on Tazuna's Bridge.

"You took your time." The sudden voice told Naruto he had reached his destination. He had been so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed.

"Got sidetracked," was all he offered in return. He stared down the stern face of his female teammate until she broke eye contact, electing to turn her gaze to the black, kunai shaped slab of stone that served as Konoha's memorial to those who had fallen in battle.

"So?" the girl asked him.

It was Kiba, sprawled in the grass beside the blond duo, who answered, "So what? We're here right?"

Naruto didn't bother to raise an eyebrow. "You sound like you don't want to be."

The dog-ninja shrugged, sitting up to stare down his teammates. "Personally, this doesn't seem like something sensei would want us to do."

"We've been over this, Kiba," Ino lectured. "This is _our_ memorial, no one else's."

Kiba just shrugged. "Whatever. I just don't think he'd approve of us moping around for a day."

"He's dead now, Kiba," Ino said harshly. "What he would want doesn't matter." Her voice trailed off a bit at the end, cracking as the girl fought back a sob.

Naruto pulled the girl into a quick hug. She buried herself in his arms as she finally allowed herself to break down, tears falling freely from her eyes and shuddering sobs wracking her body.

"He _is_ dead, Ino, and that's why we're doing this. Once," Naruto soothed. "Just this once, we're allowed to mope and mourn, and then we have to move on like he'd want us to."

Ino's response was to cry harder, wrapping her arms around the blond genin even harder. Even Kiba, normally boisterous, was depressed, his own tears starting to leak from his eyes. Only Naruto didn't cry, though he held back more than a few sobs as his teammates broke down.

Finally, the group's tears were spent, and Team Ten lay sprawled on the well manicured grass around the centograph. Naruto was the first to rise, pulling Ino and Kiba with him by the arms as he strode forward, finally taking in the full sight of the memorial stone.

The name Sarutobi Asuma was engraved at the very bottom, as the last name on the stone erected for Konoha's heroes.

Naruto reached into the back pocket of his black funeral attire, withdrawing a plain white, rectangular box.

"You found them?" Ino asked.

Naruto nodded as he opened the box and passed a plain white cigarette to both Ino and Kiba. "Yeah. They're expensive as hell."

The genin withdrew a square metal lighter from the same pocket, clicking it open with a slide of his fingers. A small flame burst forth, and Naruto lit up the ends of Team Ten's cigarettes, the three of them holding them a few inches from their faces between their fingers.

"To Asuma," Naruto declared.

"To Asuma," Ino and Kiba chorused.

All three took a simultaneous drag, and the sound of coughs filled the air around Konoha's memorial stone.

/~/

Two weeks had been the amount of time Team Ten had been granted for leave, and he had used the time to prepare. First impressions were ridiculously important in the world of shinobi, even more so for sensei and their prospective students. Even among them, Team Ten would be a special case. A genin team that had lost its sensei was an anomaly for the greatest of the shinobi villages, and there was no doubt that Team Ten would be even more of a hassle to deal with than an average trio of cadets.

After all, they had some high expectations.

He took a deep breath to center himself as he settled down in the clearing. The two weeks he had had to prepare were strange to him. As an ANBU captain, the best at that, he was far more used to vague plans that were only truly shaped in the heat of high level missions. He had second guessed his testing idea more than once, before finally settling on what his gut instinct had told him to do. It had carried him through years of service to the Hokage. It wouldn't fail him in front of three rookie genin.

Even so, he still made time to drop by his old captain's place for some friendly advice. He had been as surprised as anyone when he heard that the illustrious Hatake Kakashi had finally decided to take on a genin team, but his captain had been even more surprised when the man learned that _he_ was going to take on students.

Sarutobi Asuma's students at that.

He had just laughed off his former captain's surprise; he had been far more shocked when the Hokage had given the order. Tenzo would admit to being a bit miffed at being reduced to an instructor for some fresh out of the Academy brats, the heavens knew how poor most rookies were, as he'd much rather be serving his Hokage on missions.

Still, the Hokage had been insistent, and had assured him that it would only be for a short duration, as at least one, if not more of the team members was a shoo in for promotion to chunin.

_That_ had caught Tenzo's attention, and had prompted him to do some digging through the Hokage's archives – S-rank clearance was useful to have. The results had been almost as surprising to read as his assignment had been.

Inuzuka Kiba had been exactly as he had suspected. The reports said he was loud, brash, and arrogant, much like the rest of his feral clan. It was to be expected of the dog-users, but what came as a surprise had been the boy's abilities with his clan ninjutsu. Academy records showed the boy to be third in his class in taijutsu, as well as more recent investigations showed large amounts of growth in the three and a half months he had been under Sarutobi Asuma. His partnership with his dog was at a high level for his age, which showed a slight inkling of future potential for the Hunter-nin Corps. The Inuzuka made up quite the large population of the shinobi hunters, and it looked as if the clan heir would join them.

Yamanaka Ino had come as a bit of a surprise, though mostly because of the bi-polarity of the reports on her. Her Academy records showed above average skill at every aspect of the shinobi lifestyle, though her attitude was noted as needing work. The girl hadn't taken her time seriously at the Academy, and her teachers had noticed.

That was in direct contrast to the reports Sarutobi Asuma had written about the girl, calling her motivated and driven to excel. The dead jonin spoke of high levels of improvement in her tenure under him, especially in the area of genjutsu. The idea of a genjutsu wielding Yamanaka was a harrowing thought as, combined with their mind techniques, illusions could become all that more potent.

And that left the true enigma.

"Uzumaki Naruto," Tenzo called across the clearing, his voice bland.

The blond boy held the ANBU captain's gaze steadily, his face carefully blank as he took in the scene around him.

By all rights, the clearing was a mess. The ground was torn up in multiple places, the sign of ninjutsu, while branches from nearby trees lay strewn across the grass. Chakra saturated the air and laid heavily on the blond, who had been alerted to his presence being required at Training Ground Eleven by messenger bird.

The centerpiece, however, was the battered, bruised, and bloodied bodies of his two teammates, both lying prone at Tenzo's feet. Above them, clad in black fatigues with a matching vest and a half mask similar to Hatake Kakashi's, stood Tenzo, ninja-to in hand, looking for all the world like the perfect assassin.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" the boy asked, his own voice flat.

Tenzo was inwardly impressed with the boy's poise. He knew of many far more seasoned ninja who would lose all sense of decorum when faced with a similar scene. On some level, the boy probably knew this was a test, but the idea that it might not be halted the boy from calling the jonin on it.

The Academy records were mixed concerning the Uzumaki, the early ones being rather scathing toward the boy's supposed lack of talent and work ethic. Those had lasted a year, before being replaced with far more moderate reviews, ones that indicated substantial growth of skill, before finally settling on comments that bordered on glowing praise. Naruto had been second in his class for the last few years of his tenure, second only to Uchiha Sasuke, a reputed genius in his own right.

Further digging had showed a surprising turn in the boy's training, as he had begun to study under Maito Gai, the experienced and powerful jonin's limited tutelage bringing out the latent talent the Academy had failed to notice.

"That's not important," the former ANBU captain answered. "The only thing that matters is that I'm following my orders."

The reports his deceased sensei had written followed in a similar vein to those of the later Academy years. Sarutobi wrote that the last Uzumaki showed potential befitting of a jinchurriki, the boy possessing massive chakra reserves for his age, as well a ninjutsu talent the man felt unmatched by any of his generation, let alone his graduating class. The boy had a wind affinity, and the jonin spoke of training in elemental ninjutsu in the last report he had written.

All of that, combined with the hearsay about the genin having killed Momochi Zabuza of all people – a rumor confirmed by the Sandaime, though with significant circumstantial details included – made for quite the interesting genin. The former captain would admit to being more than a little intrigued by such a genin.

And thus, Tenzo had his test.

The ANBU gripped his blade ever so slightly in anticipation, and it was all the prompting Naruto needed.

Though the reports had said it clearly, Tenzo was still taken aback when the boy hurled a wind chakra sheathed kunai at him, poised to pierce him between the eyes and howling like a hurricane. _That, however, wasn't the appropriate response_, the jonin thought with a little disappointment. The kunai, while quick through the air, was no match for Tenzo's speed, which would allow for him to easily land a killing blow on one, if not both of the boy's teammates.

_Perhaps his mind needs some exercising._

The sudden absence of the sound of wind was the only indication that his initial assessment was wrong. The former ANBU captain moved faster than the boy could see, using pure speed to escape a dropping heel that would have caved his skull in.

Tenzo leapt backwards out of range, his sharp eyes catching the form of the wind enhanced kunai now buried in the ground where Naruto had first been standing. _Kawarimi with a kunai, with the fuuton chakra used as an anchor for the jutsu to better latch on to the blade. Impressive thinking._

Naruto taken his well earned opportunity to grasp both Ino and Kiba by the collar, Shunshin-ing back to where his kunai was stuck in the ground. He dropped the unconscious bodies to the ground unceremoniously, locking eyes and glaring at Tenzo from across the clearing.

"So, did I pass your test?" he called, voice angry. Blue eyes bored into Tenzo's brown, and the new jonin felt a smirk forming beneath his mask.

_Quick thinking on the fly and some deductive reasoning to boot. He'd likely make chunin now if the examiners saw that last display._ The genin had correctly gathered that the objective was to get his subdued teammates out of harm's way. Tenzo would even admit to being caught off guard. He would bet money that that little maneuver would kill even a jonin, given the right timing.

He, however, was no mere jonin.

"One of them," was his answer. "Your approach was reckless, though, leaving yourself exposed to any enemies that might have been lying in wait."

Naruto's eyes widened as a small spike of chakra served as his only warning. The genin deftly leapt over a slash at his legs, planting his right foot on the offender's head and pushing off out of the immediate kill zone.

Landing, he watched as both of his "teammates" dropped their respective henge's, reverting to clones of the man in black. He clicked his teeth in irritation at his slip in judgment. A mistake like that might cost him were the situation not a test.

Two quick movements had his new trench knives spinning their way to his knuckles, wind chakra exploding down their length and beyond with the force of a tornado.

Tenzo allowed himself a small smile. The boy was certainly eager. Who knew, maybe he'd even be pushed a little?

"When one test ends, another begins, Uzumaki Naruto. Prepare yourself," Tenzo spoke in monotone. "You won't succeed unless you come at me with the intent to kill."

/~/

**AN: A bit short for this fic, but substantial nonetheless. I apologize for cutting the final scene where I did, but it felt right and made for a nice segue back into the action. I'm not a writer who enjoys writing emotional scenes. **

**Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed. Thanks to all the DLPers who made this chapter what it is now, rather than the crap I originally churned out, you know who you are.**

**As usual, drop a review to tell me what you think. Happy Black History Month (shortest month of the year, WTF?)**

**Pro  
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	10. Chapter 9: Salutary Neglect

Disclaimer: I own Naruto.

/~/

"When one test ends, another begins, Uzumaki Naruto," Tenzo spoke in monotone. "You won't succeed unless you come at me with the intent to kill."

Naruto spared the sentence one moment of thought, inwardly reflecting on how ludicrous the statement sounded, before reminding himself that this was a jonin. He likely wouldn't be able to kill the man anyway.

That wouldn't stop him from trying, however.

Tenzo fought back a slight smile as he watched his charge think on the task for a moment. _At least he has some common sense_, the ANBU thought with satisfaction. Many rookie genin would simply charge in without a thought, either paying the order no heed or so confident in their skills they thought they could actually lay a finger on their instructor. Kakashi had told him as much had happened with his squad.

The former Captain knew well that it took a ninja of a certain skill to even be able to lay a finger on him were he taking the test seriously, but, just as he was no normal jonin, Uzumaki Naruto was no normal genin.

He might even sweat a little.

Wind roared to life around the boy's blades as he charged at speeds beyond most his age. Tenzo gave a single nod at the tactic; Naruto correctly assumed that the little kunai trick he'd used earlier wouldn't work twice.

_Full frontal, however, is too simple minded_. The jonin unsheathed his assassin's blade in less time than it took to blink, bringing the ninja-to to bear in a strike that would relieve Naruto of his head.

The genin didn't disappoint.

Showcasing his agility, Naruto came to an abrupt halt just outside the radius of Tenzo's slash, pivoting on his right foot and channeling latent momentum and chakra into a burst of speed that sent him sprinting around his new sensei in a perfect circle.

_Ah, Goken_, Tenzo thought. The distinctive tactic was first developed by the renowned taijutsu master Maito Gai, though the style's creator rarely ever used the technique anymore. He was beyond such simple maneuvers.

His students, however…

The idea was to use pure speed to limit the enemy's sight, the sheer quickness causing the user of the technique to blur to an indistinguishable shape. With the enemy's attention split between trying to see the user, as well as trying to predict where the strike would come from, the Goken user would strike.

Tenzo re-sheathed his blade in the exact amount of time it had taken to draw, bringing his arms up almost level with his eyes, elbows pointed outward and his center of mass lowered in what could only be described as a defensive stance.

It wasn't a moment too soon, as Naruto came hurtling out of his circle directly behind the jonin, right foot poised and body coiling into a perfect trademark Konoha Senpu.

Tenzo rotated quickly, the upper part of his left arm catching the brunt of the powerful kick, hardened muscles unyielding under Naruto's assault. An involuntary wince escaped his emotionless demeanor even so; the boy kicked _hard_.

Such a thing wasn't about to stop him, however, as he lashed out with a lightning fast right handed jab. Naruto just barely avoided it by leaning his head to the side, but the genin paid it no heed, striking with dual cross slashes of his knuckle knives as his wind chakra screamed.

Tenzo leaned back to avoid the first, but had to duck under the second to avoid having his head sliced off. The jonin used his lowered position to ram his shoulder into Naruto, the though blow lacked its normal power as Naruto had jumped backwards to right himself after his strike. It still had enough momentum to force the genin off balance, however, and Tenzo pressed his advantage, bringing his left elbow up and under Naruto's chin in a brutal strike that sent the boy reeling.

Naruto recovered fast, but not fast enough to stop getting backhanded across his face by Tenzo's left hand in a continuation of the jonin's last strike. The blond lowered himself instinctively, growling as he tasted blood in his mouth.

Tenzo nearly smirked beneath his mask as the boy raised his knife laden hands to be level with his head, unknowingly mimicking Tenzo's own taijutsu stance. _Good instincts; they'll help him learn quickly_, the jonin thought with praise.

Chakra racing down his legs, igniting nerve endings, Naruto burst forward, knives poised to behead Tenzo once more. The masked man took a single step back to right himself in preparation, and Naruto took the opportunity to move into a fast moving circle once more.

_This again? The boy should know better_, the new jonin thought, somewhat disappointed but still wary. Tenzo lowered himself into his defensive stance once more in expectation.

Naruto wasted no time, hurtling out of the circle in another perfect Konoha Senpu, this time to Tenzo's right.

The jonin almost sighed. A quick rotation had the former ANBU captain poised for a perfect block, his left hand ready to grab the inclement kick, while the right would grasp Naruto by the neck. The tactic hadn't worked the first time; the boy had to learn never to use the same tactic twice, no matter how harsh the lesson would be.

He made for the grab, only for the body of his new student to pass clean through his hands like a ghost.

_Bunshin! But when did he have time…_Tenzo thought with alarm and a small hint of satisfaction. So the boy was smarter than that after all.

An instantaneous Kawarimi carried Tenzo outside of Naruto's circle, the substitution with his Moku Bunshin seamless as reflexes born of endless high level missions kicked in.

He reappeared some thirty yards from his new student, and turned just in time to watch the blond obliterate his Bunshin with Fuuton: Renkudan at point blank range.

Wood chips soared skyward as Tenzo studied his student. _Crafty use of ninjutsu while leaving the taijutsu as a smokescreen; good instincts, and no hesitation when it comes to landing decisive blows. He either knows that he won't touch me, or he's just taking this test far more seriously than I had thought._

The jonin wasn't quite sure which option was running through Naruto's head, but he didn't much care. Both would serve his purposes here.

_Time for a bit of pressure._ Both Yuugao and Kakashi said he needed to exercise his sadistic side a bit more; this would be a perfect opportunity.

Naruto glanced through the haze of wood chips warily, mind ablaze with thought. Wood was really only used for Kawarimi by ninja, not to form clones. That this jonin could do so hinted at a skill Naruto, like the rest of the ninja world, had thought lost with the Shodai Hokage.

_Could it be…_he thought with uncertainty. Already, this new sensei of his was proving formidable in many ways.

His mind was saved from having to try to answer the myriad of questions surrounding the jonin when the still floating wood chips in front of him morphed into sharpened blades resembling kunai. Blue eyes widened almost comically as Naruto realized how trapped he was, before lightning fast hand seals had wood impacting wood rather than flesh and bone courtesy of a substitution.

His Kawarimi left him momentarily disoriented, reflexive though it was, and the blond shook his head a few times to clear out the cobwebs.

He apparently shook his head a few too many times, as when he refocused a second later, the clearing was filled with black clad clones of his new sensei. Naruto cursed sulfurously at the sight, before retrieving his knuckle knives with a lightning fast swipe at his waist, fuuton chakra exploding down their lengths.

Senses screaming, Naruto leapt backwards to avoid a hand that burst from the ground to grab his ankle. He landed lightly on the balls of his feet, but immediately was forced to sway to the side to avoid a stab from another clone. A quick weight shift had him in position for a counterattack of his own, but the appearance of yet another black clad figure at his flank forced him to strafe to his left to make space.

Belatedly realizing that he was completely encircled by the mass of black clad clones, Naruto blurred into action as the ninja-to wielding doppelgangers rushed him. Moving almost too fast for the untrained eye to catch, Naruto wove in and out of the mass of clones, avoiding their attacks with seeming ease and always by only a hairsbreadth.

One stab to the chest was dodged with a spin to his left; the spin led to another in the opposite direction, as Naruto planted his right foot and used his momentum to move in the complete opposite direction, neatly avoiding a slash at his neck.

An idea struck him as he ducked under a punch, and he planted his hands on the ground and pushed upwards, sending his body skyward. He sheathed his unused knives in their holsters at his waist, before speeding through the hand seals of a katon jutsu he had secreted from the Archive years previous, but only now had the time to practice.

Just as he was about to release the Grand Fireball, his sight of the mass of clones ten yards below him flickered for an instant. _What?_ he thought with alarm, before the obvious answer lodged itself in his brain.

_Genjutsu!_

None of the clones had actually touched him, each of their attacks easy enough to avoid, and he hadn't made any counterattacks due to being far too occupied with dodging the numerous swipes and slashes at his form. He had just assumed they were like the Moku Bunshin he had reduced to wood chips before.

Add to that his momentary disorientation, and the conclusion was obvious.

The knowledge that this was, in fact, a test of his abilities reasserted itself, and Naruto realized that it was natural for this new sensei to test his genjutsu ability.

And he had failed in it spectacularly.

The pent up chakra from the Gokakyuu no jutsu was growing too hot to bear, so Naruto released the Grand Fireball on the mass of illusionary clones with a rage filled grunt. The fire swirled in the clearing for about five seconds before Naruto released the jutsu and fell back to earth, breaking his chakra flow for good measure even though the latent chakra in the air from his ninjutsu would have dispelled the genjutsu anyway.

The blond genin landed without a sound, staring down the single form left in the clearing, his form seemingly untouched by the fiery hell Naruto had unleashed on his doppelgangers.

The two locked eyes for a moment, one impassive, one steaming with anger, before Tenzo was suddenly in Naruto's face before the boy had a moment to comprehend what was happening.

Naruto took a punch to the face and an elbow to his ribs before he started reacting. The jonin was _fast_, and he left Naruto with little time to respond to the sudden bout of violence.

The genin ducked under a high elbow, only to receive an uppercut to the face that sent him reeling. It was the space made from the blow, however, that gave Naruto the precious half second he needed to regroup, and he launched his counterattack with all the ferocity Goken embodied.

His first two haymakers were blocked by Tenzo's raised forearms, hands near his head once more, but Naruto adjusted quickly. He lowered his center of mass accordingly, realizing that he wouldn't be able to land so much as a legitimate hit on the man while standing tall, and struck out with one of the lightning fast jabs he usually reserved for when fighting with his knuckle knives.

It wasn't to be.

Tenzo redirected the jab with the outside of his left arm before grabbing it, using Naruto's forward momentum as leverage to rotate his body inwards to deliver a shot to Naruto's elbow. A duck under the offending appendage had Tenzo in position and the jonin capitalized by viciously elbowing Naruto in the face, sending the genin's head snapping backwards as blood flowed from his newly bleeding lip.

The black clad man wasn't done, however, taking the opportunity to deliver an elbow to Naruto's left leg, two back-fists to his chest, a second elbow to the right leg, before finally grasping the boy by his neck and flipping him to the ground in a brutal show of strength that had Naruto bruised, disoriented, and gasping for air as he lay still on the ground.

Tenzo observed the fallen form of his charge silently for nearly a minute. The boy was recovering, slowly but surely. Air which he had gasped for seconds earlier now came in steady breaths. It was a recovery time far faster than ninja many years his senior and in their primes.

"_Jinchuriki, those created at birth at least, are physical marvels unlike normal humans; even by shinobi standards."_

_Tenzo showed no outward expression at the proclamation, electing to let Sarutobi continue unimpeded though he certainly held questions. _

"_The effect of a biju's chakra on a human over time has never truly been documented," the Sandaime lectured. "But snippets of information about many of the known jinchurriki state similar observations about physical prowess in relation to their normal shinobi counterparts. They move faster, recover quicker, and, given the correct training, are far stronger than normal shinobi."_

"_And that's just physical?" Tenzo asked._

_Sarutobi nodded. "Yes. The far reaching effects of the demon's chakra effect everything from physical recovery to chakra capacity." The Sandaime locked eyes with Tenzo. "I take it you are far more versed in the more charka intensive effects that surround most who harbor tailed beasts?"_

"_Of course, Hokage-sama." Tenzo nodded._

"_Good. While my son…" Tenzo noted how the old man didn't even flinch at the mention of his newly deceased son, not that he expected him to. "…sought to enhance Naruto's ninjutsu capabilities and play to the boy's immense talent in that area, I would ask you to concentrate more on the physical, taijutsu aspects of the boy's development."_

"_Hokage-sama?"_

_Sarutobi almost smiled at the unspoken "Why"._

"_A jinchuriki's body is malleable, even at an age where most normal humans stop developing as their genetic structure and past nutrition have a set blueprint as to what the body will eventually be. While I'm not saying to break the boy's bones and reset them in certain ways, I do believe that a more physically oriented training style would benefit the boy in the long run, as it would play to the great strength he will no doubt possess one day."_

_Tenzo frowned, the expression in full view as his mask was off – he was still uncomfortable without it at times. "A new taijutsu style?"_

_Sarutobi smiled. The captain was quick like that. Along with his stellar record and unorthodox abilities, the sharp mind of a trained commander was why Sarutobi had chosen him for this job. _

"_Indeed. While Gai certainly did Naruto a favor in taking him under his wing, his Goken style is far too rigid for one not fully devoted to taijutsu." The smile morphed into a grin of satisfaction. "I believe Naruto himself has come to understand this, though he has found little to do about it without proper guidance."_

_Tenzo nodded, in thought once more before an idea struck him; one that Sarutobi had likely been after from the beginning. "Shinzo Kara?" _

_He was rewarded with a grin that bordered on nostalgic. "Rather fitting, no?"_

"_Indeed, Hokage-sama. Though, I wonder how is he to learn such a style in such a short time? I am only to be his sensei for a short time, and even to be adept at the style takes months of training…" the former ANBU captain trailed off, the answer to his question smacking him in the face even as he asked the question._

_At this, Sarutobi's grin became almost gleeful._

"'The hell?"

Naruto had taken over a minute to fully recover from the beating he had taken, only to receive a scroll to the face as he sat up. He caught it before it reached the ground, however, and turned an appraising eye to it.

"Kage Bunshin?" he asked aloud, reading the title.

"A corporal clone technique that forms a doppelganger directly from the chakra of the user," Tenzo recited from memory, having copied the information from the Forbidden Scroll of Seals onto the scroll his charge now held.

The voice of the jonin who was to be Naruto's new sensei drew his attention from the scroll to the man, drawing a raised eyebrow from the genin. The man, formerly clad in only black, now wore the standard uniform he often saw on all of Konoha's ninja. Navy fatigues covered by a forest green flak vest were offset by the standard equipment pouches in their appropriate places. The only distinguishing feature on the man was the mask style hitai-ate that Naruto knew was similar to the one worn by the Nidaime Hokage.

That, and the wooden chair the man was sprawled on lazily that seemed to both grow directly from the ground and conform to every line of the man's body, almost as if it grew from him as much as it did the earth.

Naruto shrugged off the sight of the dead bloodline ability, electing to save his questions for later and concentrate on the obviously important scroll.

"I take it I'm supposed to learn this," he stated more than asked. Why else would the man give him the scroll?

"Indeed. The Kage Bunshin is a B-ranked restricted technique due in part to its monstrous chakra drain on the user," Tenzo lectured. "Due to your…extenuating circumstances, it's been decided that you would find the technique to be a boon rather than a detriment."

Naruto nodded at the indirect reference to the Kyuubi sealed within him. The chakra drain that most ninja would find instantly debilitating likely wouldn't even faze him.

He broke the seal on the scroll and unfurled it without a flourish, beginning to read with rapt attention he truly only reserved for learning new ninjutsu. Tenzo watched the boy with calculating eyes the whole time.

"Any questions?"

A wry smile crossed Naruto's face, though he didn't look up. "Plenty. Your name would be a good place to start."

Wry amusement seemed to transfer from student to sensei, as a similar smile broke across Tenzo's unmasked face. "Call me Yamato," he said simply.

Naruto nodded, still absorbed in his reading, though he noted the difference in "call me" and "my name is". Knowledge was power, indeed. _ANBU then, _the boy thought with some certainty. Most regular shinobi didn't have classified names, after all. He spared a second of thought to he and his team being assigned an ANBU for a sensei, before dismissing it. Nothing bad could come of intensive training, at least in his mind.

He was almost finished with his reading when his eyes came to a halt above a passage about the jutsu's effects. Blue eyes met black sharply, and the newly dubbed Yamato broke into a smile.

"Memory and sensory transfer?" Naruto asked. If this was what he thought it was…

"The other reason why this jutsu is classified as restricted," Yamato said.

"Physical training?"

The jonin shook his head. "Only the knowledge of it."

Naruto nodded. Even without physical gains being directly transferred to the user of the technique, the Kage Bunshin was still a massive boon to his training. _The amount of ninjutsu I could learn with this…Hell, even taijutsu could be practiced_, Naruto thought with a growing excitement.

"Why?" he asked Yamato.

"A learning implement. The Hokage believes that direct training in ninjutsu is something you don't require at present, and the technique will help you break down and master any new jutsu you happen to come across," Yamato stated. The Hokage was adamant about not directly teaching Naruto any new ninjutsu besides this one. "_Let him find them on his own_," he had said, a wry smile on his wizened visage.

"Taijutsu then."

A satisfied smile split Yamato's face. "That is what I'll be training you in for the foreseeable future, among other small things."

"And my team?" Naruto had no idea how many points he had inadvertently won with the jonin with his simple statement of concern for his teammates.

"They have been similarly tested, and will receive training tailored to their needs as well as group training." Yamato offered the boy a small smile. "Rest assured, Team Ten staying together is in the interests of the Hokage, and I'm here to help you grow into a functioning and cohesive unit."

Naruto nodded, shoulders sagging slightly in relief that his team would be staying together. It was an unvoiced fear of his that they would be broken up and trained separately, but it appeared that wasn't to be the case.

"So…" Naruto trailed off.

"So, I shall begin your taijutsu and physical training once you've mastered the Kage Bunshin."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Any particular style?" he asked dryly.

"Indeed," Yamato said patronizingly. "Shinzo Kara, though you wouldn't have heard its name despite your familiarity with it."

The genin realized he would be learning whatever style the jonin had used so effectively against him in his test. A smile split his face at the thought of using the brutal techniques against _his_ enemies, rather than having it used against him.

"Lightning fast, physically uncompromising, and viciously –"

"Brutal?" Naruto finished cheekily.

"You noticed," the jonin drawled.

"I did."

"Yes, well…" Yamato shifted slightly in his seat, the wood responding to his movements to provide perfect support regardless of his position. "It is a seldom used style anymore, its creators having been wiped out at the start of the Second Secret Shinobi World War, but it is effective, and based solely on the intent of the user. Do you want to kill? Do you want to maim?" Yamato said, gesticulating at Naruto to get his point across.

"ANBU style?" the boy asked in reference to the many taijutsu styles that ANBU were forced to learn upon their entrance to the program.

Yamato was mildly impressed with the boy's knowledge. _The Sandaime did say he was good at gathering information…_ "Yes, though it originated in what was once known as Uzu no Kuni." The jonin carefully gauged his charge's reaction. "Specifically, from the shinobi village of – "

"Uzushiogakure," Naruto finished for him quietly, eyes lowered at the thought of his dead ancestors.

"…you've heard of it," Yamato stated more than asked.

"I can do my research," Naruto said quietly. "Certain subjects motivate me to dig more than others," he finished somewhat cryptically.

Yamato nodded, taking note of the change in his student's tone and mood. _Maybe I should have been less blunt_, he thought in retrospect. He wasn't used to dealing with children, and certainly not orphans with emotional baggage.

"Do you think of them often?" he asked gently. He too was an orphan, and could sympathize with wanting to know about one's family. Unfortunately, he had never actually found who his was.

Naruto shrugged, visibly collecting himself. He didn't like thinking about his family. "Only if I can't help it. Thinking about them does me no real good, does it? Best just to move on."

Yamato nodded. While jaded, especially coming from a pre-teen, it was a good outlook to have on life for a shinobi. There were things that you just couldn't change, and dwelling on them did no one save your enemies any good.

"The style?" Naruto asked, eager as ever to steer the conversation back into safer waters. Safer waters that had nothing to do with his feelings about his deceased relatives.

"Ah, yes." Yamato shifted himself once more, and Naruto watched as the wood moved with him. It was somewhat disconcerting. "Shinzo Kara, beyond standard katas that you will be learning, is truly all about being knowledgeable of your surroundings. Whether those surroundings are people, trees, weapons, doesn't matter," the jonin lectured. Naruto got the impression that this wasn't the first time the man had made this speech. "Knowledge of actions and whatever reactions you choose to implement."

"A defensive style?" Naruto asked, as that is what such a style would be classified as. Surely not.

"In the way I use it, yes," Yamato confirmed. "You, I suspect, will bring a more offensive oriented mindset to the style."

Naruto raised a blond eyebrow. "I wasn't aware that a "mindset" could be brought to a taijutsu style."

Yamato shrugged. "With most, more rigid styles, the mind of the user only truly effects how hard they hit, as there are only a set number of moves and katas that one can use while still conforming to the style. With Shinzo Kara, while there are certain patterns and even katas, the mindset of the user is everything. When put in to practice, there is a constant choice that has to run through the user's mind. 'In reacting to this, do I seek to kill, or to maim, or even to not injure?'"

Naruto nodded at the explanation. "No matter what though, each option hurts."

"That they do," Yamato confirmed with a wry smile.

Naruto settled back in thought, his eyes drifting to the opened Kage Bunshin scroll. He wasn't entirely sure why he was learning this new style of taijutsu, but he wasn't going to complain about it. As much as he was comfortable with Goken, it _was_ far too rigid for someone who wasn't completely devoted to taijutsu. He would never be so one dimensional, at least not by choice.

He had been in the beginning stages of trying to create his own taijutsu style, one far less rigid than Goken, but only the Heavens knew when that might have actually happened, let alone _if_ it would have happened. And now he had this dropping neatly into is lap, with a B-ranked clone technique that would help him _everywhere_ thrown in as a party favor.

At this point, from the viewpoint of a shinobi in training, things couldn't be better.

It hardly counted as a consolation prize after losing Asuma, but it would help him move forward in the long run.

"So when do I start learning this stuff?" he asked Yamato.

A raised eyebrow met his query. "When you learn that jutsu," was the answer.

Naruto blinked once, grinned, and settled down into his training mindset.

_I'll get along with this guy just fine_, he thought with satisfaction.

/~/

"I _don't_like this guy!"

Naruto just rolled his eyes at the complaint that was now fast becoming Ino's most used sentence. Unfortunately, he was alone in this, as in a surprising twist of the norm; Kiba was fully backing up her claims of hating their new sensei.

He really didn't see what the problem was.

He voiced as much, and promptly winced at the openly hostile looks his team sent him. He rolled his eyes again, out of sight of course. Leave it to Ino and the mutt to finally agree on something, and that something being disagreeing with him. Honestly, he felt like he was on a team with children sometimes.

"Sensei!" he called. Yamato, sitting as always in that weird chair of his, opened his eyes. Naruto didn't thing for a second that the man had been sleeping. He had been thinking.

A slight smirk crept up the man's face – about the only emotion the man showed on a regular basis. "Ready, then?"

Naruto gave a single, curt nod, steeling himself. The pre-teen turned once to look at his two teammates, locking eyes with Kiba. The boy nodded back, though with considerably less intensity. Naruto just sighed; he'd have to have a long talk with the two of them after this session was over. It was due.

Refocusing, Naruto stared down his new sensei for less than a full second, before breaking into a full on chakra enhanced sprint at the man. Peripheral vision degenerated to a blur as Naruto moved, true tunnel vision only staved off by an intense concentration that didn't allow the blond to slip into Shunshin.

_Ten meters…five meters…come _on, _Kiba!_Naruto mentally screamed. Almost three meters from his waiting sensei, Naruto felt the distinctive grip of chakra take hold of him for a split second, before disappearing just as quickly as it had come.

_Useless mutt!_

Two meters from Yamato, Naruto halted the majority of his forward momentum, gripping the ground with chakra for leverage, and rotated himself into a counterclockwise spin that carried him past his waiting sensei. Feet planted, tendons screaming, Naruto came to a full stop on the other side of Yamato, arms raised to his eye level in anticipation.

He wasn't disappointed.

Blurring almost too fast for the genin to see, Yamato struck out with a right handed haymaker that was blocked by Naruto's left forearm. Countless hours of clone training memories came to the fore in the blonde's mind, and he moved to grab the offending appendage and turn defense to offense. Chakra laced fingers slipped over Yamato's retreating hand, finding _just_too little to grab hold of.

_Plan B, then._

Naruto shuffle-stepped to his right, managing to neatly avoid a thrust kick from the jonin, and ducking under a follow up that would have landed him in a nearby village. The genin lowered his center of mass before lashing out in a sweeping low kick at Yamato's legs, aiming to relieve his sensei of his balance.

The former ANBU captain leapt over the leg sweep, but Naruto had expected it. Having only fractions of a second, Naruto pivoted like the wind, coiling and uncoiling faster than ever before and launching a brutal elbow at his airborne sensei with all the speed and suddenness of a snake.

It connected solidly, the chakra empowered strike launching the former ANBU back and sending him to the ground. Naruto grimaced for less than a second, before, senses screaming, he turned rapidly, arms raised in his now trademark taijutsu stance.

It too proved futile, however, as Yamato occupied one of his arms with a cross punch before spinning Naruto off balance and sending him careening across the clearing with a kick to his exposed chest. The genin landed hard, and had a moment to glance at the downed and splintering form of Yamato's Moku Bunshin before grimacing in pain.

That _hurt_.

Falling back to the earth, Naruto took a leaf from Shikamaru's book and simply stared at the passing clouds for a few moments, reveling in the relative peace. It was about all he managed to get these days, in between personal and team training coupled with being Team Ten's new mediator. As frustrating as it was, he was forced to admit that the earlier vitriol both Ino and Kiba had been spewing at their new sensei wasn't an isolated occurrence.

It had been a sum total of two weeks since Yamato had taken the reigns of Team Ten, and it had been a rough going even from the very beginning. Kiba and Ino had been determinedly frosty toward the jonin, and the man's own aloof attitude, often times a bit robotic, certainly hadn't helped matters. Naruto had been left as the man in the middle, with Kiba and Ino committed to their private rebellion on one side, and Yamato stuck with simple reprimands – anything more would cause both of the genin to close up even more, that much was obvious to even Naruto – on the other.

And, really, short of beating the two of them, which Naruto was loathe to do, the boy couldn't really think up a way to get them to stop bitching.

A hand blocking his view of the clouds helped him back to the present, and the genin grasped it firmly, letting Yamato pull him into a standing position. He winced slightly at the fresh pain from where the man had kicked him. Now more than ever was he glad for the healing capabilities of the demon fox inside him. Without them, he would have been a bloody mess on the ground, given the number of times both Kiba and Ino had managed to screw up their current exercise.

Quite simply, they were instructed to Kawarimi with him as he moved in on his opponent, Yamato in this case, in order to sow confusion and take advantage of opportunities created by the first person. It was one of the many teamwork exercises that Yamato had brought to Team Ten, and, unfortunately, wasn't being handled well by two thirds of the team.

The only good thing coming out of it was Naruto getting some taijutsu practice against someone other than his clones.

The proffered hand disappeared just as suddenly as it had come, and Naruto watched yet another Bunshin of his new sensei fade. Blue eyes found the real man lecturing both Kiba and Ino back where Naruto had started his charge.

"The concentration is the most crucial part, and it is what you're currently lacking," Yamato said, his tone stern. "You've been familiar with the jutsu for years now, so the only thing holding yourself back is your mind."

Ino and Kiba both looked less than happy with the criticism, but only Ino spoke. "We're not rookies, _sensei_. We _know_how the jutsu works."

Naruto winced, hard. Both Ino and Kiba had been skirting around the edges of disrespect and outright insubordination for the entire two weeks Yamato had been their sensei. He'd brushed the majority of it off – the Sandaime probably told him to go easy on them for a while – but most of the two's little rebellion had been far from direct, the words spoken between them and occasionally Naruto, at which point the blond boy would try – and fail – to impart some form of common sense. This though, was overt, and Yamato had no reason not to put the two in their place.

"Is that so?" the man questioned. His voice was level and his face as impassive as ever, but Naruto could easily detect the undercurrent of frustration in the jonin. "Indeed, if that were the case, you wouldn't have so much trouble with what is by far the simplest of team based maneuvers in Konoha's playbook. As it stands, only your third teammate seems to be able to manage it."

Naruto had never really been one to be awkward – which couldn't really apply to someone who had been an infamous prankster in his younger days - but he couldn't really help it in the face of his teammates' resentful looks. It wasn't his fault he had picked up the technique quickly – months before really – they simply weren't concentrating. Hell, he was the one getting beaten down by their sensei every time Kiba or Ino managed to botch the technique!

"I wonder at what exactly you were taught previously, if such a simple exercise in a basic jutsu keeps eluding you."

The blond genin bristled at the implied slight against Asuma's teaching, but managed to reign himself in. This was a dressing down long overdue and, no matter how much he liked his teammates; he knew that they needed it. Friction like this needed to be resolved quickly or Team Ten might as well disband, given what their future effectiveness would look like.

While Naruto was restrained, his two teammates were not.

"Our sensei taught us well!" Kiba all but screamed, Akamaru adding his own commentary in response to his partner's emotions.

"Then prove it," Yamato said flatly and so quickly that Naruto almost was forced to crack a smile at trap he had set for Kiba and Ino, though it certainly applied to him as well. If, after this, they continued to make their little rebellion a nuisance, they'd be dishonoring Asuma's memory, slighting all the work he had put into Team Ten's growth.

It took a few moments for other two thirds of Team Ten to get the jonin's ploy. They didn't seem all that happy about it, Naruto noted.

Yamato sighed, the first real show of emotion the man let slip for the whole day. Naruto noticed that the man became less robotic as the day wore on. The jonin decided to finish ahead for the day, and dismissed the team with a stern note to think on what he had said.

Naruto retrieved his pack from where he had tossed it some hours earlier, idly taking out an energy bar and tearing it open. A quick glance at the path that led back to the village showed Kiba and Ino already on their way out. Neither of the two appeared to be in much of a mood to wait for him, to Naruto's chagrin, so he had to hurry to catch up. He threw Yamato a nod on his way past that the jonin didn't bother to return.

Drawing level with his team, Naruto listened with less than rapt attention as Ino and Kiba muttered insults of varying potency, shaking his head all the while.

Finally having had enough of both, Naruto interrupted. "What the _fuck_is your problem?" The blond didn't flinch as the hostile looks of earlier returned. They were expected at this point. Undeterred, he continued, "We're supposed to be trying to get back to active duty and all you two are doing is fucking around like little kids!"

Ino looked like she was ready to deck him, but Kiba broke in before the blonde could get a word in edgewise. "What's _our_ problem? The fuck's _your_problem? Asuma-sensei's dead and you're acting like nothing ever happened!"

And here was the heart of the issue. Asuma. Simple though the answer was, it was nonetheless extremely complex and difficult to deal with. From Naruto's perspective, Asuma had died a hero's death, but it had been of his own making. No one had forced him to stay in Wave and fight, but he had chosen to, dragging Team Ten with him into what would and should have been an early grave for all four of them. As much as Naruto would miss the man who had become such a large part of his life, he had to move on.

Ino and Kiba had no such thoughts, and only saw the hero's death their sensei had died, leaving them to pick up the pieces.

Naruto sighed. "Yes, he's dead, and I've moved on. Shit doesn't stop happening just because someone dies, and I'm not gonna be stuck flat footed when it does."

Kiba snorted and turned away, but Ino picked up the slack for him. "He's been dead for a month and you're already making it seem like he never existed! He was our _sensei_, not some… tool you can throw away!" the girl finished, pausing for a moment in the middle to find the right words.

"I know that-"

"Do you? Because it looks like you're having a hard time showing it!"

"-but that's not the point!" Naruto shouted over Ino's interruption, finally coming to halt with the village in sight just down the path. "_Yes_, he was our sensei. _No,_he wasn't just some tool. But that doesn't change the fact that he's dead and he would want us to move on. Getting petty about what Yamato tells us to do isn't about to bring him back."

"So that's it, then? You think you know best so you just go along with what this asshole of replacement says?"

Naruto had been emotional as a child. From irrational bouts of anger to distasteful pranks on the general populace, the boy had been one of the most openly expressive ninjas-in-training Konoha had ever seen. Those same emotions had been mostly bottled up in the years following his late night encounter with Uchiha Itachi, forced aside in favor of a more reserved and calculating persona that was necessary to become a ninja that would ever stand a chance against an organization of mysterious shinobi.

But that didn't mean he didn't have those same emotions anymore.

People had once been wary of Naruto for more reasons than just his tenant. They said he had a temper.

Those people were right, and Naruto wasn't one for what he saw as _blatant _stupidity in the face of a serious situation.

"Yeah, I am, because the guy knows what the fuck he's talking about! You're making it seem like sensei's death was some tragic accident. Well, I've got news for you two: Asuma chose his death! He made a decision that the mission was more important than his and our lives, and paid for it. I'm not about to let the same thing happen to us. Any of us," he added for emphasis, blazing blue eyes boring into the faces of his teammates.

"Just because you're scared doesn't give you the right to act like nothing happened!" Kiba broke in, fully regrouped as Ino sputtered from the slight against Asuma's judgment.

"I'm not. Shit happened and I'm trying to stop it from happening again! I'm trying to get stronger. _You_ two fucking around, acting like a couple of spoilt brats back in the Academy, puts _all_ of us at risk. What happens next time 'round – and there _will_ be a next time – when shit hits the fan, huh? When the chips are on the fucking table and there's no one there to bail us out? I'll tell you what happens: we _die_! I'm not about to let that happen, and if that means that I have listen to a guy who's being put in as a replacement for Asuma – and an experienced jonin at that - so be it."

Looking back, he shouldn't have expected to have much of an effect on two people as emotional as Kiba and Ino; neither of them was particularly rational on their best days, nor were they objective on this matter in the slightest.

"You're a cold bastard, you know that, Naruto?" Kiba growled.

"And you're too idiotic to see reason, Kiba; both of you. I'll live with being cold so long as it keeps people alive."

For a moment it looked as if the dog-ninja was about to throttle Naruto – who would have welcomed it at this point – but instead did the smartest thing he could and stormed off down the path to the village. Ino followed him without hesitation shortly afterward, but not before tossing Naruto a glare that tried to burn a hole in his face, blond hair whipping about in the wind.

Naruto was left on his own in their wake, standing at the entrance to one of Konoha's many dense, outlying woodlands. Frustration bubbled up in him for a moment before he spun abruptly, channeling chakra into a punch that shattered the trunk of a tree. The sapling tumbled to the ground with a crash as Naruto followed the rapidly disappearing forms of his teammates with his eyes, shaking his head all the while.

They would learn he was right. They would have to.

/~/

Twin ANBU on the rooftops halted across from one another without a sound. Heads turning in opposite directions, the elite shinobi surveyed the surrounding area with critical eyes. Save for the few forms of late night walkers or workers, the streets were empty.

Konoha was a shinobi village, and as the strongest, it wasn't surprising that foreign agents would do their utmost to infiltrate it. It was at this time, past midnight, that ANBU was in full force in their patrols. Infiltrators were caught weekly, almost daily at times, and every nook and cranny needed to be surveyed.

The first, a woman wearing a dog mask, flipped through a quick series of hand seals before nodding. Her partner, a lizard masked man, nodded back, brining his hands together in a ram seal. A single pulse of chakra, not big enough to disturb any sleeping villagers, emanated from the shinobi, the technique working to unearth anyone hidden in a genjutsu. It had the added effect of rebounding off of surrounding nearby chakra presences, alerting the male ANBU to anyone using natural cover. There was one nearby, but the chakra indicated they were sleeping on the inside of the wall.

Five seconds after the pulse dispersed, the lizard masked man sent out one more, just to be safe. Satisfied after finding nothing, he gave his female companion a nod. With a whiff of displaced air, the duo vanished into the night, having disturbed no one.

Using chakra to cling to the side of the building the two ANBU had just surveyed, positioned on the inner edge of a window, Naruto breathed out in a slow, steady exhale. The blond, clothed entirely in a blue so dark it could be black, counted out two minutes in his head starting from when he "heard" the two ANBU leave. He was no sensor, but two highly trained chakra presences were hard not to notice in a village full of sleeping people.

Reaching the one hundred and twenty second mark, Naruto deftly and silently leveraged himself, gripping the wall with chakra, and flipped onto the roof. Landing in a crouch, body low with his right leg extended in case of any sudden movements, the genin did a quick three hundred and sixty degree visual check of his surroundings. Finding no one, and mentally congratulating himself for avoiding the patrol, he relaxed for moment.

An easy smile crossed his face, concealed by a half mask though it was. It was almost fun for Naruto, indulging in what had become one of his guiltiest pleasures. Sneaking past patrols on his way to some late night – or early morning, as it was – training was a bit of a past time for the blond. As an Academy student, he wasn't given access to the training grounds without special permission, and no one ever seemed willing to give it to him.

So he made due, as he always did.

True, there was no reason for him to have to sneak past patrols to get in some late night training, as a genin he had full access to all but the Forest of Death – reserved for chunin and up – but it helped keep the hard earned stealth skills sharp.

Anyone could be fooled by a good enough cloaking genjutsu or ninjutsu, just like anyone could break a good enough genjutsu. It took real skill to sneak past patrols without using chakra, and it was one of the things that Naruto had taken pride in for years. Knowing where to hide, how to position the body and suppress enough your presence to seem like a chakra presence that was so close to the building's edge as to be inside it, how to move without expending chakra and go undetected in a village full of watchful lookouts; it was things like that that counted as _real_ stealth.

Asuma had often said that Naruto was born to be an infiltration specialist. The man was right.

Taking a moment to feel the wind through his skin tight mesh shirt, Naruto surveyed his surroundings once more, before silently creeping his way to Training Ground Eleven. A Shunshin would have been quicker, but with how locked down a Hidden Village was at night, the speed technique was simply a way of asking to get caught.

Landing softly in the clearing, Naruto pulled back the blue bandana covering his hair to scratch his head before replacing it with a blue hoodie, shinobi grade, from one of his storage scrolls. Tight fitting clothing was a must when sneaking around, as loose garments flapping in the wind were a dead giveaway to any observant patrols.

Fully covered from head to toe in blue, Naruto brought his hands together in a cross shaped seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu," he murmured. Twelve puffs of smoke heralded the arrival of his clones, each clad in the same clothing as he.

A single nod greeted the doppelgangers, and they each moved into the nearby trees, disappearing from the original's sight.

Back in the clearing, Naruto centered himself, calling up the numerous lectures on his taijutsu Yamato had given him, as well as the hours of practice he had gone through with his clones. Taking a deep breath, Naruto drew his former sensei's trademark knuckle knives and made his way into the trees; tensed in anticipation for the rustlings in the dark.

/~/

**AN: Sorry 'bout the wait. This took forever to get done. Major thanks to the DLP crew for helping me polish this up. Special thanks to Hashasheen for beta work and being a great guy to bounce ideas off of. For anyone looking for an in depth, gritty portrayal of the Narutoverse, check out his new story titled A Different World**. **I'm betaing it. .net/s/6858409/1/A_Different_World **

**Anyway, look out for a Hurricane Suite update in the near future.**

**Pro  
**


	11. Chapter 10: In the Presence of Enemies

Disclaimer: I own Naruto.

/~/

A dull thump sounded by Konoha's main gate as Naruto casually dropped his travel pack. Dirt kicked up in a cloud, coating his sandals and mid-calf high bandages in a thin layer of grime. He didn't much care as he lowered himself to the ground, leaning his head back against the hardwood of the massive gate and closed his eyes in thought.

"_Meet at the north gate at nine o'clock sharp,"_ Yamato had said. _"We have a joint mission. Pack for two week's worth of travel_._"_

The jonin hadn't said anything more the previous day, preferring instead to vanish in the standard Konoha Shunshin. Naruto had shaken his head in light frustration while Kiba and Ino had walked off in their almost daily huff, not bothering to wait for the jinchurriki. Such had become the habit of Team Ten.

Ever since the argument between him and his team – the less mature members in his opinion – both Kiba and Ino had taken to ostracizing him as much as they could. They had decided that not speaking to him for the most part and leaving practice without him were their best courses of action. Avoiding him outside of team training was easy, and Naruto didn't do too much to bridge the gap, but missions were more difficult.

While Yamato had decided, rather wisely, that a C-rank mission outside of the village with the team in such a state would be an all together bad idea, D-rank missions were far from off limits. Whereas before the chores had simply been tedious and annoying, now, given the relative tension, they were the mother of all awkwardness for the twelve year old blond. Neither of his two teammates talked to him beyond the bare minimum necessary to complete the assigned tasks, and the two left him to do his work on his own.

Naruto had taken to using his new clones – the Kage Bunshin was rapidly becoming his favorite technique – to get his assigned work done. Fast and easy, Naruto had to wonder how he had ever managed to get D-ranked missions done without the aid of his clones. Of course, Yamato wasn't about to just let him leave after doing his own work, often making the blond help out his teammates. Ostensibly, it was for the benefit of the team, and the man was looking to rebuild some of the team dynamic Team Ten had possessed before Asuma had died.

It didn't work all that well.

Rather than building teamwork between the members, the D-ranked missions, specifically Naruto's new and easy way of doing the chores, only served to irritate Kiba and Ino further.

Naruto felt like he was on a team with ten year olds, rather than the mature ninjas they were supposed to be.

Admittedly, Yamato could have done more to build camaraderie between the three pubescent twelve year olds, but Naruto felt he either couldn't or didn't' bother trying. The genin suspected the former. Being in ANBU, something Naruto was nearly sure that his new sensei had been, didn't exactly promote strong, tight knit relationships and emotional bonding.

Good sensei from a technical standpoint Yamato was, but he wasn't a nurturer by any means.

More than ever, Naruto found himself missing the easy-going and fairly transparent nature that Asuma had projected, if for nothing else than to resolve the growing chasm between him and his teammates. Conversely, Yamato was as reserved as any person Naruto had ever met – including Sasuke. His somewhat withdrawn nature didn't endear him to Ino or Kiba, despite his effectiveness as a teacher during their team sessions.

While Naruto certainly couldn't claim to be _friends_ with the man, something he could have said with ease about his first sensei, they had a strong working relationship. When Yamato lectured, Naruto listened; when Naruto raised questions, Yamato answered them. They got along as well as any two people in a workplace could. It was clean cut, efficient, and sterile, filled with none of the easygoing cheer and near familial bond Naruto had shared with Asuma, but it worked.

Despite himself, Naruto found himself content with his relationship with the former ANBU, a sentiment only compounded by his steady growth under the man's tutelage.

Yamato could _teach_, and Naruto was more than happy to learn.

Beneath it all, Team Ten splintered. Kiba and Ino would have their petty vendetta while Naruto waited, with growing impatience, for the two see just how stupid they were being.

Sometimes he wondered if it wouldn't be better if they just went their separate ways.

The emergence of familiar chakra presences accompanied muted footsteps, drawing Naruto from his reverie. Blue eyes drifted open lazily and Naruto half-turned to see Team Eight walking toward him leisurely.

"Ohayo, Naruto! Nice look. New?" came the familiar greeting of Akimichi Chouji, his usual snacks surprisingly absent. Hyuuga Hinata and Aburame Shino, his two teammates, trailed slightly behind the large boy, Chouji having sped up to reach his old friend.

A change in his usual attire explained the boy's greeting. Over his standard green t-shirt he wore a black flak vest, similar to the standard issue green ones worn by chunin and jonin in Konoha, that he left unzipped.

"'Lo, Chouji," was all the blond said in response, not in the mood for much small talk. Naruto stood fluidly, like the shinobi he was, to greet his old running buddy from the Academy. Reaching forward, he grasped his friend's forearm in a standard, customary Akimichi greeting. A smile that was a cross between a grimace and a wince broke across his face as Chouji returned the grip. _Tubby bastard always was strong_, he thought somewhat fondly, recalling many such greetings. "How's it going?"

"Can't complain, I guess. You?"

The blond shrugged, some of his earlier thoughts returning in spite of Chouji's perpetual cheer. "Good and bad. Learning to just roll with it, I s'ppose."

The smile on the large boy's face dimmed somewhat, no doubt thinking that Naruto was speaking of dealing with Asuma's death. He was, in a way, but certainly not in the way the Akimichi thought. That didn't even begin to cover the rest of the shit-storm of information he was currently dealing with.

"How's that going?" Chouji asked sympathetically.

Naruto snorted a laugh. "It's going," was all he said.

Chouji nodded his acceptance, and Naruto moved past him to greet Shino and Hinata.

"Good to see you, Shino, Hinata. It's been a while." Shino nodded briskly, as was his way, while Hinata flushed and averted her eyes to the ground, silently pressing her fingers together as was _her_ way.

"Indeed, Naruto-san. My condolences for the loss of your sensei."

"A-ano, it is good to see y-you as well, Naruto-kun."

Naruto nodded at the respective greetings, quietly thanking Shino for his sympathy, before moving on to other topics, trying and failing to distract himself. "So, you guys have any idea what, exactly, we're gonna be doing on this mission? Yamato-sensei wasn't specific."

It was Shino who answered. "Kurenai-sensei spoke of a search and retrieval mission to the country of Rice Fields. Increased bandit activity in the area of interest is why additional man power was requested in the form of an additional genin squad."

Naruto nodded as Shino spoke, digesting the dry, yet informative details. "Great," he said dryly, far from enthralled. "What are we 'retrieving?'"

"An information packet being delivered by the Daimyo of Rice Fields' men, as per the treaty between our countries," the near melodious voice of Yuhi Kurenai sounded from behind her genin, causing Chouji and Hinata to jump in surprise. Shino was unaffected, simply turning at the sound of her voice, while Naruto had seen her approach over the heads of Team Eight.

Two blond eyebrows rose at the statement. "Isn't that something handled by chunin and jonin?" Genin didn't get slotted into missions where any type of sensitive information was being passed. It was too dangerous.

Kurenai offered him a reassuring smile, her inky black hair blowing in the slight breeze. "The packet contains nothing sensitive, and is more of a formality to be observed than anything truly necessary."

Naruto gave the jonin a nod before quickly averting his eyes so as to not be caught staring.

"You're looking well, Naruto-san. It's good to see," the pretty jonin offered, and Naruto flushed involuntarily at her words before giving her a quick smile.

The group descended into silence as Kurenai dropped her pack next to Naruto's and moved to make small talk with the two gate guards. The sound of chips being chewed filled the air as Naruto looked about for conversation, all the while not particularly wanting to speak. It was an interesting contradiction.

Just as Naruto began to tap his foot, the sound of bickering assaulted his ears, and a sardonic smile found its way to his mouth.

"'Bout time you two showed," he quipped blandly, not really irritated.

"You're early; we're on time," Ino offered briskly as the two greeted the members of Team Eight with considerably more cheer.

"Nice to see you too," Naruto grumbled under his breath.

"Yamato here yet?" Kiba grunted after obligatory etiquette had been observed.

"No," Naruto returned, a scowl crossing his face as he spied Ino and Chouji in familiar and friendly conversation. He scanned the gathered group. "I'd expected he'd be here by…now," the blond trailed off, keen blue eyes finding the form of his sensei causally leaning against the outside of the gate. _When did he…_

Blue eyes met black, and Naruto thought he spied a slight smirk pass over his sensei's face, but it was gone before he could fully make it out. _Sly bastard_, Naruto thought as he watched Yamato get Kurenai's attention before the two made their way to the assembled genin.

"As you've been informed, this mission is a C-rank collaboration between Teams Eight and Ten. Our objective is a standard information packet to be handed over to us just inside the border the Country of Rice Fields. I assume you've each packed for two weeks worth of travel?" Yamato asked the group, though it wasn't really a question.

Six nods and a few muttered yeses met his inquiry.

"Move out."

/~/

The sound of crashing water was all encompassing; loud to the point of being wince inducing.

Water, brilliantly blue yet clear as the day as it reflected the sun's rays flowed underfoot, the current unperturbed by the sandals resting atop it. Naruto didn't' see the water, however. Neither did he see the myriad of ensnared fish struggling upstream beneath his very feet. He didn't see the sun's refracted rays, somehow managing to create a near rainbow in the thin mist permeating the air halfway across the river into the Country of Rice Fields. Nor did he see the trees extending behind him for miles along the river on which he stood, finally giving away to water and rolling fields and hills. He barely even heard the sound of the awesome waterfall to his left, deafened as he was by the sound of his own heartbeat.

All Naruto saw was stone that gave way to a flash of indigo hair and red eyes that inspired both envy and terror in him. Eyes as blue as the water flowing beneath him were locked on the carved face of the man who Uchiha Itachi had warned him of four – _almost five_, he corrected himself – years ago.

Uchiha Madara.

His hands clenched at his sides unconsciously and his eyes narrowed as his internal equilibrium was disturbed by the swirling, almost nauseating sensation of the Kyuubi's chakra being drawn upon as the name of Naruto's formerly faceless nemesis echoed through his subconscious. The reaction was mostly his, though he suspected that the Kyuubi might have played a small part in the stirring of the pot.

The beast could probably be considered the only sentient being in existence that could honestly say that he hated Uchiha Madara more than Naruto did. And Naruto hated him quite a bit.

He had been all but responsible for the deaths of both of his parents.

_Listless blue eyes stared out at the two hundred foot tall cage in front of him, seeing but not truly comprehending the vision before him. Around him, water rippled in great waves and the walls shook as the Kyuubi's mocking laughter erupted, the beast glorifying in the pain it could cause its container._

_The Yondaime, his father. _

_Naruto could see nothing, could _feel_ nothing in the wake of the information that was as close to earth shattering as Naruto felt he would ever receive. The Yondaime, the man he had adored for his childhood and hated since he had learned of his burden, was his father. _

_The fact that his mother had been both the last of the once proud Uzumaki clan and the previous container of the Kyuubi was all but shoved to the wayside in the face of his father's identity. Pushed aside in the face of the curse Namikaze Minato had given him._

_Beyond the cage, beyond the swirling water and the miasma of crimson colored chakra that crashed and broke around and against him, beyond the fox's cruel thundering, one thought penetrated Naruto's mind:_

Old man, why didn't you tell me?

Even now, the thought would echo across his mind every now and then, putting him into a mood of gloom and introspection as he tried to piece together why the old man that he had looked to as a grandfather had withheld information so critical to his identity. He never came up with much, nothing so serious that it would prevent the Sandaime from telling Naruto due to any real danger to him.

Needless to say, his teammates on the mission to Rice Field Country had stayed clear of him for the majority of that day. He had gone to the Kyuubi for information on Madara – the fox obviously would have information to yield about a man he had tasked Naruto with killing – to be greeted with the tale of October the Tenth twelve years previous.

The tale of how Madara – "_**A man with chakra fouler than even my own**__,"_ the fox had said – had managed to rip the beast from his mother's seal and force it to his will with his Sharingan's trickery, all but killing his mother, Uzumaki Kushina, in the process, before setting it loose on Konoha. The Yondaime, the fox had concluded after some years of thought on the matter, for it hadn't been present, had fought Madara to a standstill before breaking the Uchiha's hold over the beast and sealing it away in Naruto.

The fox had been far from pleased to relate the tale of its own imprisonment, but took a vindictive solace in the fact that Naruto felt as much pain as it did at the revelations.

Naruto had been all but silent for the day, and his team had been even more skittish around him than normal, correctly sensing his mood and having no wish to tempt the sleeping dragon. Yamato had seemed to ignore the episode for the most part, but Naruto had sensed, when he had bothered to pay attention to those around him, that the man was wary. Not for the first time did Naruto wonder about the man's placement on the team as sensei. Sarutobi was no fool, and it would have made no sense to saddle some jonin, even a former ANBU captain, with a tailed beast container if they would be ill equipped to deal with it. It was especially so, now that Naruto had accessed the fox's chakra.

A flash of red in his peripheral vision sent a shock of terror through him, his body unconsciously associating the color with the famous dojutsu of his Uchiha nemesis. Fight or flight took hold of the blond for a single second, his brain shooting orders down nerve impulses at the speed of thought. Arm and leg muscles tensed in preparation, and Naruto's right arm twitched in expectation of delivering a jabbing palm strike to his assailant's throat.

The motion was never completed, halted in the middle as Naruto realized, belatedly, that the flash of red merely belonged to Yuhi Kurenai's dress, not Uchiha Madara's Sharingan.

_Get a grip, Naruto_, he chastised himself, noting that though the female jonin looked at ease, the tightening around her eyes spoke of her knowledge of his reaction.

"Both teams are ready to move out, Naruto," she spoke, her soft voice somehow carrying over the roar of the falls.

He nodded once, curtly, and turned to follow her back to the small camp the two teams had made just inside the border of Fire Country. The journey from Konoha had been a long one, requiring nonstop running since that morning, and all the genin were in need of a rest to regain their bearings for the rest of the mission.

They entered the camp in silence. Naruto's trained eyes quickly locating his teammates and those of team eight loitering about a clearing that had been filled, just a few minutes previous, by a good sized wooden house that Yamato had seen fit to make grow from the ground. The man had apparently decided to rest in style. Naruto had never seen his teammates happier with their sensei than they had been in that moment, though they returned to their usual cold treatment a few minutes later once the novelty had worn off. Yamato himself was packed and ready, standing at the edge of the forested clearing to observe the five genin.

Naruto spared the man a nod as he passed him, swiftly walking to his pack that was leaned against a tree. The blond had never bothered to unpack, preferring to relieve himself quickly in the woods before making his way to the Valley of the End to brood.

He took up a position next to his sensei in watching the proceedings. The group was ready to move in short order with little fanfare aside from a rather humorous interaction between Kiba and Shino.

"Just because I employ insect based techniques, Kiba-san," Shino had patiently explained, "does _not_ make me responsible for Akamaru's flea problem."

The group stood assembled before the two jonin in silence as Yamato addressed them, "Our destination lies almost two hours to the northwest of here. With any luck, the packet will be delivered on time and we can begin our journey back to Konoha immediately."

"The meeting's location, sensei?" Naruto asked. Yamato gave him a look, and he elaborated, "The briefing packet wasn't specific."

"Shin Toshi," Yamato recited blandly.

"That's Fuma Clan territory," Aburame Shino's quiet voice came from the back of the assembled genin. The rest of teams eight and ten turned as one to look at him. Naruto squinted in thought; the only Fuma Clan he knew of lived in Rain Country.

Yamato simply nodded without expression, but Kurenai looked pleased. "Yes it is, Shino. The Fuma Clan have long been allies of Rice Fields' Daimyo, and have agreed to provide protection and supervision for our meeting with the Daimyo's men."

Naruto's eyebrows went to his hairline, but Ino beat him to the punch in asking, "Is that really necessary, Kurenai-sensei?" Her expression was quizzical, belying the calculating mind Naruto knew she had underneath. "This _is_ only a C-ranked mission, after all."

At her proclamation, Kiba stiffened, while Naruto struggled to look unaffected. His eyes unconsciously flickered to Yamato's, who was staring directly at him with an unfathomable expression in his eyes. The hair on the back of Naruto's neck stood up. _Something's wrong here_.

The blond barely noticed when Kurenai waved off his teammate's concern. "The presence of the clan is simply ceremonial. It has been a tradition since the end of the last war for the Fuma Clan to be present at the Daimyo's dealings, given the close relationship the two entities share."

Team eight nodded as a whole, accepting their sensei's words without question. Team ten nodded as well, though all three sets of eyes were locked on their sensei. A look of resignation seemed to pass through the man's black orbs for a moment, though it was gone too quickly to be sure.

"Good then," Kurenai said, clapping once. "Shall we?" she asked Yamato. The brown haired jonin nodded once in response. "Let's go!"

A chorus of "Yes, sensei!" rang out through the clearing as the genin hastened to obey, and the six pre-teens leapt into the trees.

Or they would have, had Naruto not taken that moment to trip over an exposed root, falling flat on his stomach in the process before he could catch himself. A round of chuckles greeted his flushed face as he rose, eyes cast downward at the tree root that had tripped him up. He tilted his head quizzically. _That wasn't there before_, he thought.

Glancing up to the still chuckling teams, Naruto made eye contact with his sensei. A smile played about the man's lips, but it stopped a long way before touching his eyes. Naruto knew the man well enough to recognize that the jonin was all business.

"Are you quite ready, Naruto?" Yamato asked dryly, "Or do you need a minute to collect yourself? We can wait."

The collective gazes of the whole group snapped to the brown haired jonin at the sheer novelty of the usually sober man cracking a joke, while Naruto stiffened unconsciously at the feeling of something crawling up his leg. Only his expectation of his sensei sending him a message kept him from crying out in surprise as what felt like a snake slithered up his right leg before depositing something in his pocket. A lightning fast glance to the ground revealed the root he had tripped over quickly retracting, burying itself in the ground where it had come from, just as he had expected.

Blue eyes sought black once more, but the man was looking to Kurenai now as she gently reprimanded him for making fun of his student. The nearly hidden smile on her face belied her sincerity, however, and the former ANBU Captain took his dressing down with the same bland look that he seemed to take everything else with.

Kurenai hadn't noticed.

Eyes flickering to the five other faces in the squad, Naruto found nothing out of the ordinary, and the Hyuuga didn't have her Byakugan engaged.

_Less than three seconds gone, a message passed, and no one knows a thing_, Naruto marveled, his respect for Yamato going up a notch. His hand drifted to his right pocket, where he casually felt what seemed to be paper stuffed inside. He refrained from raising an eyebrow. The man could bend wood to his will, and paper was made from trees after all.

A scant three minutes later found Naruto in the trees, taking up the rear of the group as they left the sight of the Valley of the End in their wake.

It wasn't hard for the blond to surreptitiously remove the paper Yamato had passed him without the notice of the rest of the group, positioned as he was. Blue eyes scanned the note quickly. Instead of writing with ink, the paper looked to have pieces cut out of it in the shape of letters. Naruto squinted slightly, as the weird letters took some adjustment of the eyes to read properly. They formed a concise list.

_Information packet objective._

_Retrieved from Fuma contact._

_Otogakure no Sato – new._

It said nothing more, but Naruto knew enough to put the pieces together.

Despite being labeled as a simple C-ranked retrieval mission, the joint effort was simply a cover for the two jonin, probably Yamato specifically, to collect some form of information on Otogakure no Sato, some new village. Whatever it was that was being retrieved, it was obviously sensitive enough for the Hokage to devise a cover for it. The old man didn't want this new village to know about Konoha's espionage. Beyond that, the fact that it was entrusted to a former ANBU captain spoke volumes about how potentially important this information was.

A spark of frustration and anger rushed through him at the knowledge of the secret mission. His team had been victim of a mislabeled mission once before, with deadly consequences. That he and his team were being thrown into the line of fire again, this time with the Hokage's full knowledge, nearly made him scream at the unfairness of it all.

_But isn't that what being a ninja is all about?_ a small, traitorous part of his brain supplied. Wasn't that exactly what Asuma had been warning him about back in Wave? About how mission objectives wouldn't always be defined, how information would be limited, and how he would have to adapt and deal with it in order to stay alive as a chunin and jonin, let alone be successful?

_Yes_, he decided, _this is _exactly_ what Asuma-sensei was talking about_.

Life wasn't fair, especially for a ninja. Naruto knew this better than anyone given his upbringing, yet he allowed himself to fall into the same line of thinking as his teammates; allowing himself petulant reactions in situations that, while indeed unfair, couldn't be changed, and where complaining did no one any good.

That couldn't happen; that _wouldn't _happen. Not anymore.

Bitching about his situation hadn't gotten him anywhere as a child and he had accepted that and learned to live with it. He'd do the same here. He couldn't say anything without blowing the mission's cover to Team Eight. All he could do was be as ready as physically possible, and be prepared to carve up any Oto-nin who happened to cross paths with their group.

He sped up briefly, passing Yamato's note to Kiba and giving the Inuzuka a tap on the shoulder to let him know. His teammates, at least, deserved to know, and he doubted that Yamato would have expected the information to be kept from them anyway.

Once sure of the dog ninja's awareness, Naruto dropped back, adjusting his weapons pouches and readying his knives.

/~/

The group of Konoha ninja didn't reach Shin Toshi until it was nearly nightfall, at which time they were invited to dinner at the expense of the Fuma Clan head, a man ever eager to impress his guests. Yamato had looked ready to immediately refuse the kind offer, obviously in a hurry to get whatever information the Hokage was to receive from the Clan back to Konoha as quickly as possible. But the genin weren't trained for operating on zero rest. It had been a long journey for the genin, and each of them was quite ready for some rest before setting off the next morning.

And it wasn't as if Yamato had any _real_ excuse to leave, given that this was supposed to be just an average C-rank mission and he wasn't about to blow the real mission's cover. Kurenai's logic had won out in the end. They were surrounded by friendly clan members and in friendly territory. It would be better to rest sooner, rather than have to stop in the middle of their journey back to deal with a genin who happened to pass out due to lack of rest.

The former ANBU wasn't too happy with the decision, but refrained from showing his displeasure. It was clear enough to most, however, that the man was on edge, and they steered clear of the jonin for the night.

Dinner was an altogether pleasant affair, with the Clan Head, Hanzaki, treating the Konoha ninjas to what was far closer to a feast than a regular dinner. The man apparently wanted to show off, and the Konoha genin were far from complaining at the ridiculous amount of food in front of them. Chouji, especially, had enjoyed himself. For Naruto, though, the entire affair was an exercise in trying his limited patience.

As he had expected would happen, Kiba had immediately passed the note Yamato had made off to Ino. What the blond hadn't expected, though he probably should have in retrospect, were the reactions his two teammates would have to the thought of a secondary mission beyond their own.

Instead of coming to the conclusion that the Hokage obviously had his reasons for sending their team, specifically Yamato, to retrieve covert information, the less mature thirds of Team Ten unanimously decided that the whole situation was far too familiar to the botched mission in Wave, and that it was all Yamato's fault. The latest bout of wisdom from the dynamic duo saw Kiba and Ino cornering Yamato immediately when the two teams broke for a few minutes of rest, with a hushed shouting match and a severe dressing down following shortly afterwards. It was only Naruto's fast talking to Kurenai and the pretty jonin's ability to run interference with her own team that prevented the entire mission from being aired right then and there.

Naruto wondered at the futility of it all. Sure, people would believe what they wanted to believe, and there was no way that Team Eight would have had any inkling of a different, covert mission, but the three genin weren't stupid. They would start suspecting _something_ at some point, Shino at least was perceptive, and then the whole mission would be blow open.

Needless to say, Naruto had received a dressing down of his own once Yamato had made sure that Kiba and Ino weren't about to defect. Apparently he _hadn't_ been supposed to share Yamato's information with his team. Unused to being in the wrong, the whole scene had screamed unfairness at Naruto, but he had swallowed his displeasure.

He didn't have to like it, however.

At length, he found himself holed away in a corner of the clan head's house, a rather large building in the very center of Shin Toshi, reading through the Earth Manipulation section of the scrolls that Asuma had given him before the Wave mission. He remembered the first stages of his wind training under the dead jonin with nothing even close to familiar fondness, and had hoped that he would have to do nothing more involving leaves. The scroll said differently, and Naruto added it to the growing list of frustrations that the mission was heralding.

Yamato and Kurenai were talking quietly with Hanzaki, though Naruto couldn't hear what was being said from his position. He suspected it had to do with the mission, but couldn't be sure. Yamato had conveniently disappeared for a few minutes before dinner, and had returned far more at ease than he had seemed before. It wasn't something noticed by one who wasn't looking for it, but Naruto had been paying special attention to both jonin ever since Yamato had told him about the real mission. A slight ease in the shoulders, less tightness around the eyes, fewer discreet glances about – small and unnoticeable under normal circumstances, but the circumstances weren't normal, and Naruto wasn't a normal genin.

The whole thing seemed suspicious, and led Naruto to believe that the necessary information was _not_ being delivered with the daimyo's men, as he had thought before, and was retrieved instead by a separate contact inside the clan. The blond admitted to himself that he could be wrong in his assumption, but felt that after a month and a half of quietly observing his new sensei that he could pick up a few of the man's idiosyncrasies. Yamato hadn't seemed half as relaxed the entire trip, even when the samurai had hand delivered their packet to him, and the genin couldn't think of any other reason why the man might be so now.

Thoughts of his enigmatic sensei flew from his mind as a blue and orange blob shaped like a human dropped itself next to him. Blue eyes turned from his elemental scroll to the blob, only to realize that the blob was in fact a girl around his age, with burnt orange hair and a navy blue bodysuit. Brown eyes peeked out from a soft, rounded face curiously, staring at his scroll intently.

He snapped it shut.

"Can I help you?" Naruto asked in his best "polite voice", even as the girl turned her eyes to him with mild annoyance.

"No," she said after a pause. Her voice was harder than Naruto had expected, having pegged her to be about his age, but carried an undercurrent of something that the boy couldn't quite place.

_Well alright then_, the blonde thought with a bit of wonder. He reopened his scroll, this time trying to actually get some reading done rather than muse about the mission, and was unsurprised when the orange haired girl didn't move, but instead returned her eyes to the earth manipulation text.

_The simplest of exercises for students of Earth Manipulation is the Leaf Crushing exercise. Similar to its counterparts, Leaf Splitting, Burning, and Shattering, the exercise is designed to force the student to become "in tune" with the Nature Chakra. With Earth Manipulation, it is important for the student to attempt to crush the leaf, not with pure chakra pressure alone, but by allowing the life energy to seep into the leaf and force it to crumble, rather than do so from the outside. Ironically, this exercise is most similar to the Leaf Shattering technique, its Lightning Nature counterpart, despite being Elemental opposites…_

Naruto was drawn from his reading as the orange haired girl's head drifted closer to his as he unconsciously moved the scroll to his right, further away from her. The genin looked to her sharply and met brown eyes once more before they glanced away, a faint blush marring pale cheeks.

"Can I help you?" he asked once more, forgoing bluntness and ignoring the 'What the hell do you want?' that was begging to be asked. He normally wouldn't have bothered, but, like most boys his age, he had a soft spot for cute females who smelled nice.

"You can move your scroll to the left some."

The Uzumaki shrugged and obliged her. It wasn't like she was really disrupting him. She was merely curious. It was understandable, he felt, given that the Fuma clan wasn't in possession of many ninjutsu, or so he had learned. The guards at the entrance to the compound had carried bows and arrows in addition to the standard kunai and shuriken, and he knew for a fact that Hanzaki usually toted a zanbatou on his back. The evidence pointed to a clan of shinobi far more focused on taijutsu and weapons rather than ninjutsu, something so far from the norm in Konoha that Naruto had a hard time imagining what it must have been like.

"Your clan doesn't have much in the way of ninjutsu," he probed, though it was more of a statement than a question.

"No."

Naruto bit down on his frustration at the intransigent girl, allowing a sigh to escape his lips and nothing more. He hadn't had to deal with people refusing to talk to him for years, since he had started taking his Academy time seriously, and consequently hadn't been forced to wheedle information from unwilling sources for quite some time.

That didn't mean he couldn't dust off his skills, however; though they would likely need a bit of a tune up. He doubted that the girl would react well to a combination of puppy dog-eyes and incessant hollering.

"Yes, I guessed as much," he began, shrugging off the one word answer like it hadn't frustrated him in the slightest. "The bows and arrows were a bit of a tip off, to be honest. Not many ninja carry them these days."

"I suppose not."

"Right. Well, you see, that got me thinking. 'Maybe a clan of weapons specialists?' I thought, but that didn't make much sense. Not in this day and age." He had her full attention now, though from how her eyes tracked down the scroll and finally stopped, it was most likely because she had finished reading what Naruto had left open and didn't want to ask him to open the scroll further. "I did some reading about the Fuma clan back home and didn't come up with much outside of Rain Country. I figure you guys must be some offshoot that happened along the way that got kicked out or something…" he trailed off, ostensibly because, were he genuinely rambling, he would have just realized that he had probably just insulted every fiber of familial pride the girl possessed.

She didn't disappoint.

Brown eyes glared into his blue harshly, and when the girl opened her mouth her voice was just as barbed, though still quiet. "I'll thank you not to call my clan a family of bastards!" she hissed.

"Ah, I'm so sorry!" Naruto exclaimed, hands held up in surrender. "I didn't mean to insult you. I'm just curious as to why your clan doesn't seem to have much in the way of ninjutsu," he said contritely. "That's all."

"Maybe because we specialize in something else?" the girl asked sarcastically. "Outside of Sunagakure's puppet brigade, we're the foremost specialists in Chakra Threads," she said, her voice filled with pride.

_And here we go_, Naruto thought with satisfaction. "Really?" he questioned. He didn't have to reach far for real interest. "I'm not familiar with…how'd you call it?"

"Chakra Threads," the girl said, almost patiently now that she had calmed down. "It's a technique that's most used by puppet users these days to control their puppets from a distance."

"But that's not what you guys do," Naruto surmised quickly.

The orange haired girl smirked. "Oh we do," she said, gesturing to Naruto's arm. When the blond looked down, she jerked her hand back towards herself, pulling Naruto's arm with her even though she didn't once touch it. Despite retaining all feeling in the limb, the arm moved like dead weight as it was pulled across the girl's body, Naruto not far behind as he landed in her lap with a strangled gasp.

A flush crept up his neck as he righted himself after the girl – he still didn't know her name – released her technique. He noticed with some small mortification that the incident had caught the attention of the entire room. The clan head, Hanzaki, was staring at him with a single eyebrow raised, while both Yamato and Kurenai mirrored him. Chouji looked amused while Shino remained impassive. Naruto couldn't be sure, it was so hard to tell with the Hyuuga eyes the way they were, but it seemed almost as if Hinata was glaring at the orange haired girl. Ino's glare was far easier to see, and Kiba looked to be fighting a smile with great effort.

"Yes, well," the girl continued once the room had returned to normal. "We do use the threads like puppeteers sometimes, but mostly for thrown weapons and the like."

"Makes those bows and arrows a bit more dangerous," Naruto mused, his embarrassment sufficiently squashed.

"Oh, yeah," the girl said with a prideful smirk.

"You guys do anything else with those threads?" the blond genin probed, fully interested in a technique that was quite obviously dangerous.

"This and that." She shrugged. Naruto nodded. Whatever else the clan did was not likely to be revealed by anyone, least of all this girl. The blond sat back against the wall once more, satisfied with the information he had managed to get.

Though he still had some questions…

"Still, does it really make sense for a clan to be so devoted to one tiny branch of the ninja arts?"

The girl shrugged again. "I guess not," she said at length. She didn't seem too happy about the logic. "We're trying to expand some, though. We're pretty close to a deal with some local ninja that would really help us move in some new directions-"

"Sasame," the deep voice of the clan leader cut into the conversation from across the room. "The Konoha ninja need to be shown to their lodgings for the night. They have a long journey in the morning, so let's leave them to their business." As he spoke, three bow wielding clansmen entered the room and gestured to the Konoha ninja to gather their belongings.

The girl, Sasame, rose. "Yes, uncle," she demurred before turning back to Naruto. "I didn't catch your name."

Naruto grinned as he gathered his pack. "Didn't think I dropped it," he said roguishly. It managed to draw a smile from the girl, and his grin widened. "Uzumaki Naruto," he introduced himself, holding a hand out.

She took it. "Fuma Sasame. It was good to meet you, Naruto."

"And you, Sasame," he said as the orange haired girl was led from the room by her uncle. Maybe they would be able to continue their conversation the next morning before the Konoha group left. She had been interesting.

He would never see her alive again.

/~/

It was the feel of pressurized chakra being let go that had woken him, split seconds before Yamato's voice sounded.

"Get up! All of you!"

Naruto sprang upward, vaulting from his prone position to a crouch, a kunai clenched in his right fist. Blue eyes darted around the darkened room that was shared by Teams Eight and Ten, taking in the still groggy forms of his counterparts, though he couldn't tell with Shino – the boy wore sunglasses even to bed.

Two people were missing, however.

Naruto's eyes met Yamato's, and the jonin held up a hand to ward off his unspoken question as he waited for the others to shake off the effects of sleep.

"Yamato?" Kurenai questioned a few seconds later, after her team had shaken a bit of their grogginess away.

"My clone was pulling guard duty with Kiba and Ino when a cloaking genjutsu was laid over the area. It was broken, but not before my clone was dispatched. This was fifty seven seconds ago. Since then, I've dispatched the two shinobi that were most likely sent to kill us. I've also learned that Hanzaki and his immediate family have been murdered. The same is happening throughout the entire clan compound; this is a purge," the jonin finished monotonously.

"What are we supposed to do?" Chouji exclaimed in a panic. All three Team Eight genin looked terrified out of their wits, even Shino. Naruto felt he probably didn't look much different.

"Quiet, Chouji!" Kurenai ordered, silencing her whole team. She turned to Yamato. "Well?"

"Take your team and Naruto directly out of the town and lead them to the border. I will track down Ino and Kiba." It went unspoken that both groups would have to fight their way out.

"Sensei-" Naruto began.

"_Naruto!_This is not the time for a discussion. You will follow Kurenai's lead with Team Eight to the border. No exceptions." The former ANBU captain stared down his best student with emotionless eyes as he passed a small scroll to Kurenai.

Naruto's eyes hardened and he nodded once, curtly. The former ANBU captain was in charge here, and he would follow his lead. He opened his mouth to reply, but the man was already gone, having wasted too much time briefing the group already. Kiba and Ino might have already been killed…

_Get a hold of yourself, Naruto!_he screamed mentally. Fatalistic thoughts never helped anyone, especially not in these types of situations.

"Gear up," Kurenai was saying. "But pack nothing besides the essentials. This is a mad dash so we can't have anything slowing us down."

"B-but what about Yamato-s-sensei?" Hinata stuttered.

"Yamato is former ANBU. He can take care of himself, Hinata," the red eyed jonin said gently, soothing the nearly hysterical girl. "I'll need you at your best right now, Hinata. We need to be able to see what's around us. Can you do that?"

Some distant part of Naruto's mind marveled at how calm the pretty jonin was in the situation, but most of him was itching to get the hell out of dodge. He had gathered his essentials precious seconds before, and his right foot tapped incessantly with impatience even as he gripped his twin knuckle knives. _Cm'on, cm' on, cm'on! Let's go already,_he thought savagely as Team Eight rushed to retrieve their weapons. This was why he always kept them in a neat pile less than a foot from where he slept, if not on his person.

"Yes, sensei," Hinata demurred at last, though she didn't sound confident in herself.

"Good girl." Kurenai surveyed the group, all of them finally ready to move out. "Let's move out."

It was the quietest warzone Naruto thought that he would ever stumble into, even after Kurenai had dispelled the residual cloaking genjutsu. Whereas not a sound could be heard before, nearly silent footsteps made by invisible enemies echoed into the night, and the sound of brief weapon clashes became deafening before halting abruptly.

"Shino, Chouji, take the rear. Naruto and I will be our front with Hinata in the middle," Kurenai hissed. The genin obeyed silently. "Hinata, your eyes."

The timid heiress brought her hands together in a seal. "Byakugan!" she whispered, as veins bulged around her pupil-less eyes. They widened almost immediately. "Sensei!-" she began, but Kurenai and Naruto were already moving.

Naruto broke left as Kurenai vaulted back over the top of her genin, both reaching their would-be assassins before the words were out of Hinata's mouth.

Naruto lowered himself under an outstretched stab, letting momentum carry himself into his attacker. He lowered his shoulder at the last moment and lifted, changing the man's direction and flipping him bodily over his head before the black clad assailant could so much as react.

The man landed with a thud, but Naruto paid it no heed as his disruptive wind chakra erupted into four foot blades. Taking two quick steps forward, Naruto brought both arms across his body in an X shape at eye level. The elemental chakra did the work for him, as a similarly black clad man dropped to the ground with his head neatly removed.

The genin juked to his right to avoid the downward slash of a katana that would have left him bleeding out, before blasting forward in a mini-Shunshin. Wind parted flesh like a hot knife through butter as Naruto ran through the sword wielding ninja, piercing both kidneys, and the blond met the dying man's eyes with a snarl as he viciously removed the weapons.

Naruto turned back to the group to see Kurenai with her hands in a seal, staring intently at the man Naruto lifted over himself at the start, her own two opponents dead from multiple wounds from a kunai and lying under the overhang on which they had likely been perched when the genin exited the building.

The jonin's eyes became unfocused for a brief second before she released the hand seal. The man wobbled unsteadily for a moment, before Kurenai casually cut his throat with a kunai. He gurgled for a moment before dropping like a puppet with its strings cut, the stench of released bowels filling the air.

Near silence reigned for a moment while the three genin of Team Eight took in the sight of casual brutality, the stillness only punctuated by soft footsteps coming from multiple locations around them.

"Get a hold of yourselves," the red eyed jonin commanded, addressing her stunned team. "This is the life of a ninja, so you'd better get used to it quickly. All of you need to be at your best if we're to survive." All three nodded shakily, still stunned by the unheralded attack and its even briefer ending. "Good. Hinata, the man indicated that their forces are less concentrated to the north. I need you to verify that."

"Y-y-yes, sensei!" The Hyuuga bloodline activated once more, and the heiress nodded. "There are fewer m-men to the north, s-sensei."

"Good work, Hinata," Kurenai praised gently. "I need you to keep your eyes activated for me, Hinata. Can you do that?"

"Yes, sensei."

No more was said as the group rounded the corner of what had been their lodging in the Fuma Clan Compound, and onto Fuma Lane, the main road that bisected the town. Naruto and Kurenai led the five man team at a brisk jog, eyes peeled for lurking enemies.

Unconsciously, Naruto was reminded of the night that had changed his entire outlook on shinobi life all those years ago. He wondered if it had been this quiet when Uchiha Itachi had eradicated the Uchiha from the face of the earth.

His thoughts were shattered as Hinata called out, "Sensei!" in quiet distress, and indicated two alleys that the group would pass in a few seconds before holding up eight fingers. Naruto and Kurenai exchanged a glance and a nod, and the blond genin steeled himself even as the sound of his own heartbeat filled his ears.

A single knuckle knife was sheathed briefly as Naruto coated and hurled a wind enhanced kunai to his right, into one of the two alleys. The blade's aim was true, and it entered one shinobi's chest cavity before brutally exiting the other side before any of the assassins had time to react. Before the remaining Oto-nin could comprehend that their teammate was dead, Naruto had used his chakra as an anchor and Kawarimi'd with the kunai into the center of the alley.

Wind chakra exploded down the length of his former sensei's knives into six foot scalpels that bent like whips. Capitalizing on his opportunity, Naruto spun three hundred and sixty degrees in the blink of an eye, his whip-like blades eviscerating and bisecting the unsuspecting shinobi as the wind roared its fury for a single moment before falling silent as Naruto fell to one knee to maintain his balance.

A second Kawarimi with his kunai carried him back to his original position before the top halves of the dead Oto ninjas hit the ground. Four thuds echoed behind Naruto, but he was already sprinting toward the opposite alley to assist Kurenai.

The red eyed jonin had only two men left to deal with, and saw his approach from over the shoulder of one her attackers. Swiftly, she thrust kicked him into Naruto's path before dropping low to sweep the feet of her final opponent. The man hit the ground hard with a muffled groan before he was silenced by a well placed kunai.

Naruto quickly reversed his momentum, allowing his body to better catch the airborne shinobi. Grabbing hold of the flying ninja, the blond placed a hand over his mouth to muffle him before slitting his throat. The cooling corpse dropped like a sack as Naruto released him.

Twin Shunshins carried the genin and jonin back to the front of their five man team, who stood arrayed back to back in anticipation of another attack. Even as the three prepared for assault, their eyes were wide with shock at the brutal end to the fight.

"H-holy _shit!_" Chouji hissed.

"N-Naruto-kun…" Hinata whispered in awe.

All three pairs of eyes rested upon Naruto, blood spattered as he was and looking like he was spoiling for more. Distantly, it occurred to the blond that none of the three had actually seen someone killed before, let alone killed someone themselves. The dead bodies didn't affect him; his sense of squeamishness died along with Zabuza when he had splattered the jonin's brain matter across the bridge in Wave Country.

"Now isn't the time for staring," Kurenai scolded. "Get a hold of yourselves; we're not out of here just yet. Hinata, how's our route?"

"C-clear, sensei. We're less than six hundred m-meters from the northern gate, a-and there is only one man guarding the exit," Hinata said. "H-his chakra levels indicate a likely j-j-jonin."

The red eyed jonin sighed. "Hmm, alright then. Leave this one to me. Naruto, I want you to stay out of this fight unless absolutely necessary, is that clear?" Kurenai asked, serious red eyes that reminded the blond of the Sharingan boring into his own.

"Clear, sensei," said Naruto, curtly. He wasn't about to bum rush a jonin unless absolutely necessary.

"Good, stay alert, though. You're my immediate backup if this goes south," she cautioned.

"Yes, sensei."

"Night vision will restrict his sight to about two hundred to two hundred and fifty meters in each direction, so you three will halt at three hundred." She pointed to indicate Team Eight. "I will cloak us in a genjutsu to hide us from sight, but stay out of range either way. Naruto, you will press up at about one hundred meters behind me. Now, I don't expect the illusion to hold for long, so a secondary sensory overload will hit him when it dispels that should buy about three to seven more seconds to work with. If, after that, he's still alive, Naruto, you will break in as a diversion and _nothing more_. I'll be able to handle him after that."

"Am I clear?" she asked. A chorus of nods met her. "Good."

The five of them ghosted forward invisibly, with the three hundred yard mark coming at a signal from Hinata. Naruto paused with Team Eight for a few moments as Kurenai continued forward, before following at yet another signal from the Hyuuga heiress. The blond matched her pace easily, maintaining the one hundred meter gap without effort.

The plan was sound, better than sound. It was rock solid for something thrown together on the fly, with the two genjutsu seeming almost foolproof in theory. And yet, Naruto was still nervous. Maybe it was just the thought of trying to tackle yet another opponent well outside of his skill range, but it was more than just that. He had a bad feeling that he couldn't place, and no amount of mental reassurance would make it go away.

He pushed it down, however, when the moon broke through the overcast night and the limited light revealed Kurenai steadily advancing on the jonin's position. Maintaining his distance comfortably, blue eyes squinted in the dark to behold a man of average height, hands loose at his sides, clad in grey fatigues and a matching flak vest. A dark hitai-ate lay across his forehead, the metal gleaming in the moonlight while the fabric contrasted sharply with the pale, almost pasty white skin of the man's face. Yellow eyes with slit pupils stared into the night impassively, reminding Naruto far too much of the Kyuubi for his own comfort.

Time seemed to stand still for a split second as Naruto's blue orbs met yellow pupils that seemed to peer right through him. The man's lips twitched, and Naruto suddenly knew what was about to happen an instant before it did.

The blond genin's mouth opened in a warning that was far too late at the same time Kurenai lunged at the still motionless jonin, kunai in position to eviscerate the sentry. Chakra rushed to Naruto's legs and exploded outward in the most overpowered Shunshin of his young life as the telltale feeling of an egg being broken over his head heralded the immediate collapse of Kurenai's illusion.

Naruto moved faster than he ever had before, his speed eating away at the one hundred meter gap in hundredths of seconds, but he was still twenty meters away when the jonin struck. As fast as a snake, one fist met Kurenai's neck before the Konoha kunoichi had a chance to comprehend that her illusion had failed, before the man's other hand divested her of her kunai and buried it in her stomach in one smooth motion.

A look of pure, unadulterated boredom flitted across the jonin's face as Kurenai's lips parted in a silent "Oh," and a thrust kick to her breast sent her speeding towards Naruto.

The blond hopped lightly, intercepting Kurenai's flight path and catching her with a hard exhale. Naruto dropped to the ground almost silently, quickly surveying the damage the kunai had done. As he examined his instructor's injury, he was peripherally aware of Team Eight sprinting towards him, but paid it no heed.

The jonin had left the kunai buried in Kurenai's abdomen, and Naruto thanked whatever divine power there might have been that the man had done so. The blow seemed to miss just about all of the vital points in the area, but Kurenai still would have been at serious risk of bleeding out had the blade been removed. Instead of true relief, however, Naruto only felt more dread for their situation.

The strike had been deliberate, and if the man was good enough to detect Kurenai's discreet illusion, dispel it without being harmed by the sensory overload, and then reverse her ambush as effortlessly as he had, he wouldn't have failed to kill his would-be assassin unless he hadn't wanted to.

And that meant that Naruto and Team Eight had just become his playthings.

/~/

**AN: Sorry 'bout the long wait, but shit's been happening in the real world to prevent me from even working, let alone posting.**

**Hopefully the longest chapter I've ever written will help assuage the rage, if there is any. Big thanks to the DLP crew for their help, specifically Hashasheen and Datakim.  
**

**As usual, read and drop me a review telling me what you think; you're opinions help this story get better.**

**I'm so pro...**


	12. Chapter 11: Indomitable

Disclaimer: I've just been bought out by some guy named Kishimoto. Naruto is no longer mine.

/~/

"Konoha shinobi," the man whispered in a low, deceptively feminine voice. "I haven't encountered Konoha shinobi in quite some time. What a…disappointment. A pretty little jonin and four genin." The man's eyes widened, though in anticipation rather than surprise. "Though…a Hyuuga, an Akimichi, an Aburame, and…_Uzumaki Naruto_." A devilish smirk that put the fear of God into Naruto split the jonin's face. "This might be fun after all."

His heartbeat deafening him, Naruto took a deep breath to steady himself, and then took another. His hearing slightly restored, he addressed Team Eight behind him.

"Guys…I'm gonna break us out. When I do, grab Kurenai and run, and don't touch the kunai, whatever you do. Don't argue," he said quickly to cut off any protests. "Don't even think. Just run for the southern border. I'll be right behind you."

Whether it was the utter terror of the moment, or some quality in his voice, the three genin behind him didn't argue, and Chouji shuffled slightly to better pick Kurenai up when Naruto initiated the break out.

The jonin was laughing at them. "You have a plan!" he cackled delightedly. "How…_magnificent_. I'm afraid, however, that you will not be going anywhere."

Four kunai appeared in his hands, and the four genin were suddenly suffocating under the most powerful killing intent they'd ever felt as dozens of shuriken and kunai peppered their frozen limbs. Blood spurted, flesh was rent, and the genin's stomachs turned over as the sight of their own deaths by projectiles played out in front of their eyes.

Naruto couldn't even blink, let alone breath as what felt like a million needles were stabbing him all at the same time while his chest was compressed past the breaking point. This was it, he was going to die. He, Uzumaki Naruto, was about to be brought low by some Otogakure jonin before he had accomplished anything. Before he had even made _chunin!_

A painful warmth was spreading through his limbs as his fatalistic thoughts hammered through his head, before the deafening sound of his own heartbeat silenced them, and the poisonously red image of a roaring fox obscured his vision.

Time slowed as his mind flashed to his first encounter with the demon fox, and suddenly the jonin's killing intent wasn't so suffocating anymore. It was nothing before the Kyuubi's pure malice and malevolence, and the devilish smirk was nothing more than a joke of an expression on the visage of a pasty-faced pretender.

The phantom pain vanished, the suffocating killing intent dissipated, and the pale jonin stood behind it all with four kunai hurtling through the air towards the genin's chests.

Naruto acted on instinct before his mind had fully caught up to the situation at hand. Two clawed hands formed a cross shaped seal in front of his face, and the distinctive sound of Shadow Clones popping into existence filled the silent night.

Three puffs of smoke obscured the jonin's vision of the genin he had targeted, and the sight of corporeal, black clad blondes appeared for but a moment before dissipating as the throwing knives found their marks. The devilish smirk already on the man's face widened, contumelious satisfaction peeling pale lips back to reveal slightly pointed teeth. _So Sarutobi-sensei's dirty little secret can think for itself. _Wonderful_._

Naruto paid the smile no heed as he drew a brace of four kunai with his left hand, while forming a half ram seal with his right. A spear of killing intent was hurled at the smirking jonin, causing the man to recoil in slight shock at its potency. The blond allowed himself a single moment of satisfaction as his spur of the moment idea paid dividends, and the frozen genin jerked back to their senses. The genjutsu had been broken as the man lost his concentration.

"You guys all right?" he queried, voice shaking involuntarily even as the Kyuubi's energy continued to filter into his system.

"Yes, Naruto-san," came Shino's predictable response, even if Naruto could detect the obvious fear in the boy's tone.

"N-Naruto-k-kun, y-your ch-chakra…" Hinata gasped. Naruto didn't spare time for a curse as he realized that the Hyuuga's Byakugan must have been activated, and could therefore see the distinctly inhuman chakra coursing through Naruto's coils.

"Nothing to worry about," he bit out quickly, unperturbed about his secret getting out. He had bigger things to worry about. "You guys remember the plan?" he asked, silently thankful for the jonin's continued lack of movement. The man obviously thought them so far beneath his notice to allow them their moment of hushed conversation. Even as he was doing so, Naruto felt the stirrings of an irrational anger begin to take hold.

_How _dare_ he not take me seriously?_ came the feral, bijuu induced thought.

Three muttered yeses sounded from behind Naruto, and the blond exhaled quietly. The man wasn't likely about to let Team Eight waltz right past him as he dealt with Naruto, so he'd have to break them out the hard way. He was confident that Team Eight would follow his lead, but, for the first time since his first meeting with Zabuza, he was less confident in himself to be able to pull them through.

A flush of chakra derailed the thought before it could take hold in him, and Naruto readied himself by sheathing his four kunai in a combination of Futon chakra and the fox's. He would only have one shot at this, and he would need his anchors.

The jonin nodded as he watched Naruto call upon his elemental chakra. _Such heightened control in one so young…impressive._ "So," he finally hissed. "You've dispelled my genjutsu. An impressive feat indeed, but then I'm sure you're just _full_ of surprises, isn't that right, Naruto-kun?"

An involuntary shiver coursed through him at the tone of familiarity, but it went ignored, as did the rest of the words, as Naruto threw one kunai directly at his own feet, before hurling the other three at the jonin blocking his path in a staggered flight path. A Kage Bunshin appeared as the blond made yet another cross shaped seal, and it sprinted at the pale man, knuckle knives drawn.

The jonin spared a split second of consideration for the flight path of the blades, smiling openly at the more advanced tactic the jinchūriki employed, before twisting himself around and out of the path of the kunai in an inhuman display of flexibility. His tongue flapped out of his mouth happily as the sight of four stunned genin met his eyes, before he refocused on the clone bearing down on him…

Only it wasn't there anymore, replaced instead by one of the kunai he had just dodged. His eyes widened even as his spine seemed to cease to exist for a moment, allowing him to bend further than ninety degrees at the waist to avoid being rent in two by the clone behind him.

A kunai of his own found its way to his hand to deal with the annoyance, only to find nothing but air as he slashed out. The sight of yet another of the boy's knives filled his vision, and a cackle escaped his lips as he turned to face the clone once more.

_Kawarimi with a kunai_, the jonin thought._ Well timed and a nearly instantaneous method of covering short distances; impressive indeed. I wonder if he knows just how well he imitates Namikaze's old habits?_

The jonin's hand, the one not holding a kunai, darted out faster than the clone could react, catching the incoming knife mid-strike and simultaneously knocking it to the ground. Moving faster than Naruto's eye could track, the jonin struck out in a jab with his kunai laden hand, impaling the clone through the throat and watching in satisfaction as it puffed out of existence.

"But," he muttered to himself, the low hiss unheard by the genin, "Kawarimi is no Hiraishin."

He turned back to the four genin, three snakes creeping out of his sleeves in preparation, half expecting to see the real Uzumaki Naruto charging him – only to be blindsided as a crimson corona of power, so bright it lit the countryside for miles, erupted.

Chakra senses going haywire at the explosion of malevolent demonic chakra, and nearly blinded by the mere sight of it, the pale Oto-nin had no time to react as Naruto, heedless of all else, barreled into him with the all kinetic force of the maelstrom he was named for.

The blond, fully cognizant, let the poisonous chakra go to work eroding flesh and bone as he held the pale man in a stranglehold. Red eyes met yellow for a single, suspended moment before Naruto pressed his advantage brutally, a crimson colored, bubbling hand of chakra extending from his arm swatting the jonin into a nearby building in a devastating hammer blow. Slitted eyes spared the building a glance as the man plowed through stone and wood like a bullet, dust exploding out as the framework collapsed upon itself. A split second was all the boy allowed himself before he enacted a lightning fast Kawarimi that brought him back to the first kunai he had lodged in the ground.

"_Run_!" he roared at the stunned forms of Team Eight, even as he forced the Kyuubi's chakra back down to a boil beneath the surface of his skin. The residual killing intent echoed through his vocal cords regardless, and fight or flight syndrome took over in the minds of his three comrades. All three took off through the north gate at a full sprint before heading directly southeast, leaving Naruto to hastily collect Kurenai in his arms and tear off after them.

The combination of the Kyuubi's chakra and adrenaline proved potent, and Naruto easily managed to power himself parallel to Team Eight in the open plains of Rice Field Country. He kept the three genin slightly ahead of him, however, knowing that if the remaining Oto ninja decided to chase them that he would need to be the first line of defense. Team Eight had already proven themselves to be greenhorn genin, unaccustomed to true combat, and would drop like flies in a running battle.

A shock of pain split his skull for a moment as he finally managed to wrestle the Kyuubi's chakra back down, and a wave of fatigue swept over him. He stumbled as exhaustion made itself known, nearly growling in frustration at the aftereffects of using the Kyuubi's chakra. _Damned fox_, he cursed. Even with his own reserves nearly full, he still felt like he had run all the way from Kumogakure to Konoha in one go.

Even so, Naruto righted himself through force of will, and resigned himself to rationing the fox's chakra so as to keep himself moving, inwardly cursing himself and the fox itself for making him use the instrument of his exhaustion to fight it. He'd likely end up passed out for days after this whole mess was over.

If they got out alive, that was.

That thought spurred him on, and his eyes bled from blue to deep purple, his teeth and nails lengthened, and his whisker marks deepened ever so slightly as the bijuu's chakra coursed through him once more. With a single push, he regained his place at the back of Team Eight's sprint to the border, noticing idly that the three had slowed considerably as they regained their wits. It was a good thing too, as at their previous pace they would have passed out halfway through the countryside.

The group crested a hill, coming to an involuntary halt as the sight of a massive body of water shimmered in the moonlight in front of them. A sigh of relief escaped Naruto's chapped lips.

"Follow it around," he grunted, his voice sounding like gravel due the influence of the Kyuubi's chakra.

Three pairs of startled eyes shifted to him. "W-what?" Chouji whispered, as if he had forgotten that Naruto had been running behind them in the first place. Wrapped up in the terror of the moment, Naruto mused distantly, they probably hadn't thought of him at all.

"Follow it around," he repeated, making an effort to soften his voice. It didn't work. "This lake is the start of the river that flows into the Valley of the End. If we follow it around, we'll reach Fire Country's border in a few hours."

"But first-" he started, as all of Team Eight had begun to move off. He placed Kurenai's unconscious form on the ground. "-I'll need some help with Kurenai."

It was as if a veil of blindness had been lifted off the three genin of Team Eight at the mention of their sensei. All of a sudden, panic returned in full force, only enhanced by the fact that their sensei, the one person they had been counting on in case of a situation like this, was lying unconscious with a blade sheathed in her gut.

"Kurenai-sensei!" Chouji exclaimed in shock. The heavy boy's breathing quickened almost immediately as he stumbled backwards. His feet caught on a piece of gravel and he tumbled to the ground unceremoniously. The disorientation seemed to do him a spot of good, however, as the moment his back hit the ground, his breathing calmed, his mind no longer focusing on the prone form of his sensei.

The other two weren't so fortunate. Hinata's already pale cheeks became even more so, her eyes widened, and she stood stock still staring vacantly down at the jonin. The gaze seemed to pass right through the dark haired woman in front of her, however, seeing instead some phantom of her mind.

While Shino looked to be his usual stoic self, Naruto could see the boy's body was far too tense, and a faint buzzing noise that the blond had been hearing since the flight from Shin Toshi was getting truly deafening.

Caught off guard by Team Eight's reactions, Naruto flinched back, uncomprehending of the raw emotion playing out before him. _What are they…why are they…?_

It was only when Hinata sunk to her knees, hugging herself tightly around the chest and whimpered, "Mother," that snapped Naruto out of his daze.

"_Hey!_" he barked, his voice, already a growl, amplified by the corrosive chakra running through him. Killing intent rolled off of him, flooding the immediate vicinity and grabbing Team Eight's attention like a slap to the face. "Get a hold of yourselves! You're running around like a bunch of greenhorn Academy Students. We're not out of this shit yet, and all of you panicking like a bunch of fuckin' kids is gonna get us all killed!"

The growling dressing down hadn't done much for Team Eight's rapidly fraying nerves, but it seemed to snap them out of their collective stupor.

"What do we need to do, Naruto-san?" Shino asked, his voice quiet. The fact that he deferred to Naruto's leadership spoke volumes, and unknowingly had Chouji and Hinata giving more weight to his words.

The blond sighed, raking a clawed hand through his hair. His own nerves weren't helping the situation. He was constantly fighting himself to keep from snapping at the three genin in front of him, not to mention the consistent pounding of blood in his ears courtesy of the Kyuubi's chakra. He was itching for a fight and he knew it, but was powerless to stop the urge.

He could push it down, though.

"First off, Kurenai needs to be patched up some. Anyone who might have chased us from the town seems to have given up by now, so we have some time to work." A thought struck the genin suddenly, and he turned to Hinata. "How long can you keep your eyes activated?" he asked, voice filled with something like hope.

The heiress looked to her feet. "A-ano, only a few minutes at a time, N-Naruto-kun."

The blond refrained from cursing sulferously at the girl's tiny chakra reserves. "That's fine for now, Hinata. Can you activate them now?" the girl nodded once, and chakra pulsed outward with a hand seal and a muttered "Byakugan!"

"There's n-no one within one t-thousand meters, Naruto-k-kun," Hinata stated, picking up on his train of thought.

"Good, good," Naruto muttered absently, his mind filing away her range. "Okay. First things first, we've gotta get this kunai out of her." He turned violet eyes on the group. "Do any of you have anything that'll help clotting? Bandages can only do so much…"

Chouji looked pensive for a second, his eyes unconsciously flickering back and forth between Naruto and his sensei, before shaking his head in the negative. "My clan's pills only deal with chakra output," he muttered.

Shino, predictably, said nothing, but turned hidden eyes to Hinata. The girl in question blushed and looked down, pushing her fingers together in her usual show of uncertainty. "Ano, I…I have a c-cream that helps wounds close by directing ch-chakra to the injury, b-but I'm not sure it will w-work properly," she stuttered.

_Aren't you the Hyuuga heiress? Grow a spine!_ Naruto thought harshly, the Kyuubi's natural malice amplifying his impatience with their situation. _Now isn't the time for your insecurities_. "That'll have to do," was all he grunted as he unwrapped the excess bandages from around his calves. "Get the cream and coat these in it. We'll use them to help stop the bleeding. Hopefully it'll buy us some time…"

The blond passed his bandages to Hinata and Shino, who began applying the cream liberally. He motioned to Chouji. "When we start moving again, I'll need you to carry her. You're easily the strongest of us physically, and I'll have to deal with any threats against us if and when they appear." The "you guys won't be much use in a fight right now" went unspoken, but the heavyset boy seemed to get the message, if the look of grim determination on his face was any indication.

"Got it, Naruto!"

"Good. Are you guys finished with the bandages?" he asked to Shino and Hinata.

"Just about, Naruto-san," was the bespectacled boy's reply. "We've a few more left."

"Hurry it up," Naruto ordered. "We don't have too much time and I don't want to linger." Even as he spoke, the jinchūriki moved to start removing the kunai from Kurenai's abdomen gingerly. He grasped the blade lightly, inwardly thanking the heavens that he had paid attention in those first aid lessons at the Academy, and pulled directly opposite the angle of entry so as to do no further damage to the blood vessels. A wince passed across his face as the jonin moaned quietly in her unconsciousness.

The blond wondered again at the enemy jonin's mindset as he had stabbed Kurenai, silently thankful for making his job easier. The man must have been arrogant to the extreme to purposefully leave a wound so treatable, so confident in himself as to think he would easily be able to dispatch the genin.

Then again, Naruto mused as he stemmed the blood flow with the bandages from Kurenai's own dress, it likely wasn't a farfetched assumption. The man obviously hadn't counted on running into a jinchūriki.

"Get those bandages over here!" he directed, using one hand to apply pressure to the wound while simultaneously cutting away pieces of Kurenai's red and white dress with a kunai. "Hold this down, Chouji," he ordered the Akimichi, passing the blood soaked cloth to him. The boy took over with a grimace, looking more than a little sick at the prospect.

Both hands free, Naruto removed the rest of the fabric with ease from around the jonin's abdomen, and discarded the blood soaked fabric.

"Naruto-san," Shino spoke from behind him, cream lathered bandages in hand. The blond only grunted in acknowledgement, taking the white, slippery strips of cloth without prompting.

"Lift that," he ordered Chouji, gesturing to the bloody cloth. The boy pulled it off and backed away hastily, all too eager to step away from the bleeding woman, inadvertently leaving Naruto to bandage Kurenai on his own.

The whiskered genin didn't even bother to sigh as the three genin kept their distance, slipping one hand under the jonin gently as he wrapped the cream soaked bandages around her middle. Sticky life water ran down his clawed hands as they repeatedly passed over Kurenai's well toned stomach muscles, the dark liquid contrasting fiercely with the almost creamy tone of the woman's skin that was paling far too quickly.

The job was finished swiftly, and Naruto fastened the not-too-tight pieces of cloth to the pretty jonin with a liberal helping of adhesive tape. He stepped back, shaking his hands and rubbing them unconsciously on his shorts, and observed his hasty handiwork.

It would have to do, he decided, turning back to Team Eight.

"That'll have to do it. Chouji, pick her up, we're leaving," Naruto directed. "We've lingered here far too long. We can be in Fire Country in a few hours, but only if we hurry," he growled.

The three genin of Team Eight nodded resolutely in response, and Chouji gingerly lifted his sensei into his arms bridal style.

The four genin followed the edge of the lake for nearly a full half hour before it turned into a river; the sound of running water and the nearly silent crunch of their hurried footsteps nearly deafening to their ears in the silence of the night. The foursome was forced to stop multiple times during the trek, as Chouji had to readjust his grip often, and neither Shino nor Hinata had the stamina to keep on at their pace for hours at a time.

It was during one of these stops – for Chouji this time – just before dawn, that Hinata activated her Byakugan as per Naruto's order. Milky white eyes widened in terror for a split second, and Naruto knew dread.

"T-twelve figures approaching from the northw-west!" Hinata gasped.

Curses exploded out of Naruto's mouth that would have made even a battle hardened shinobi take a step back. He took a deep breath to steady himself, even as the sound of his own pounding heartbeat began its ritualistic echo.

"All right," he began, "here's the plan. We're gonna take Kurenai and get across the river. I assume you know the water walking exercise…" Three hesitant shakes of heads met him and the blond only barely kept himself from exploding. "_Shit_! Okay, then we'll need to keep on around the river until it thins. Then we'll cross. Once we're over there, we'll need to sprint along the riverbank until you reach the Valley of the End, just like we planned. Once we're in Fire Country we can contact one of the border patrols. The obvious entryways are gonna be swamped with patrols at this time of day, so we'll need to get to one as fast as possible, you hear?"

Chouji nodded resolutely, already reaching to pick up Kurenai. Hinata was tripping over herself in her haste to gather her belongings, while Shino directed his steady gaze at Naruto. The blond got the impression that the bug user could see right through him.

"You won't be with us," he said quietly, having picked up on Naruto's unspoken plan. It wasn't a question.

A sardonic smile split Naruto's face. "I'll hold them off for a few minutes before breaking out. I'll be right behind you," he said in a whisper.

"You'll need our help-"

"No," Naruto cut across the boy quietly, his voice eliciting a wince. He paid it no mind. "Kurenai needs medical attention ASAP; we don't have time to stop and fight a taxing battle. And if I come with you and they catch us – which they will – we'll all get killed in a running battle. This way, Kurenai will get back to Fire Country with only one of us playing catch up."

Shino paused, uncomfortable and in obvious thought. "That chakra you used…"

Naruto grimaced. "Like I said: I'll be right behind you."

The bespectacled boy nodded once, firmly. "I will keep them moving."

"I know," Naruto said. He addressed the rest of the group. "Let's move out!"

Chakra revitalizing their limbs, Team Eight plus Naruto took off at a sprint around the riverbank. Naruto stopped after a few steps, watching silently as his comrades continued their sprint, two thirds of them so focused that they were completely unaware of him.

Turning, he began his backtrack slowly, taking measured steps as he focused on filtering the Kyuubi's chakra through his coils. Purple eyes bled fully into crimson, and Naruto thought he could almost hear a growl of satisfaction come from the beast.

He paid it no mind, however, as the slight rustling of branches heralded the approach of the Oto-nin.

Pointed teeth became bared in a feral snarl of rage as boiling red chakra bubbled out of and across the surface of Naruto's skin. The now familiar warmth of the fox's demonic chakra washed over him fully as the visible life essence settled itself in a cloak around him. One, single tail like appendage sprouted from behind him and began waving back and forth.

The twelve ninja, clad in all black body gear and face masks, broke through the foliage at a run, only to halt abruptly as they caught sight of the demonic vision waiting for them at the edge of the water. The Konoha genin noted, with a feral satisfaction, that fear was quickly replacing confidence on their faces. Stunned, the men looked at one another in shock, and it was all the prompting Naruto needed.

Formerly restrained murderous intent poured forth, every ounce of it directed directly at the shinobi, who froze.

Naruto spared no thought for the men in front of him as instinct took over and a haze of red blurred his vision. Dust and rocks exploded upward behind him as he tore towards the twelve motionless shinobi faster than the eye could track. A red blur was the only sight that greeted the men as Naruto dropped to all fours and covered the remaining distance in two bounds.

Claws outstretched, Naruto barreled into the first of the twelve without ceremony, nails finding purchase in the soft flesh of the man's throat. Blood spurted as the claws left two inch rents in the skin, and the man dropped like a sack with his head half removed. The unleashed jinchūriki didn't so much as glance back as the body hit the ground, having extended the single tail into a seven foot whip that bisected three Oto-nin as he spun in a full circle.

Four shinobi were lying dead after less than a second before the other eight reacted.

Acting quickly, the first brought his hands together in a seal sequence, causing a rock fissure to erupt where Naruto was standing. The cloaked blond reacted faster than the man could have ever anticipated, deftly jumping out of the spike's way, before exploding forward and grabbing the offender in a lightning fast, crushing chokehold that collapsed the shinobi's windpipe in an instant.

Capitalizing on the jinchūriki's momentary pause, a second Oto ninja leapt forward and made for a stab at Naruto's exposed back. Inhuman reflexes jerked Naruto to the left, and the knife buried itself hilt deep in his right shoulder.

The boy's roar of pain split the air, and Naruto dropped his quarry to the ground. Coiling his body, the blond jabbed his clawed left hand into the chest of the Oto-nin who had stabbed him before the man had a chance to react. The feral genin paid the blood running down his arm in rivulets no heed as the dragged the screaming shinobi to meet his eyes.

Slitted eyes the color of fresh blood met terrified hazel for a single, suspended moment before Naruto slapped the man into a tree twenty meters away with enough force to crack the trunk.

It had taken four men dying in the span of a second to galvanize the Oto-nin into action, and it took six men in two for the rest to realize that they were well and truly fucked.

The first who tried to run was cut down as Naruto almost casually ripped the kunai stuck in his shoulder from its resting place, hurling the blade through the back of the man's head in one motion. The second who broke for his life had his organs liquefied as an arm of pure, demonic chakra snatched him around the waist and _squeezed_. The third man didn't make it a step before the jinchūriki had swept him into a tree with a wave of his arm.

The fourth made it a full step before stopping suddenly, staring with unblinking eyes down at the crimson, bubbling hand of chakra that was extending out from his chest. The fifth man had resigned himself to death, and was neatly decapitated by a blood colored whip that had been meant for his chest as he fell to his knees.

The final Oto-nin made it to the tree line as Naruto was distracted, but it was for naught as the jinchūriki fell to all fours and powered himself into a flying tackle that sent the two tumbling to the ground in a tangle of limbs. Quickly using his weight to pin the man, Naruto held him down by the throat while he raised his second claw in preparation for a strike that would brutally decapitate the shinobi.

It was only when the crimson eyes of the nine-tails met pale blue eyes that could have been his own that Naruto realized that the man's mask had been ripped from his face. Terror-shrouded eyes stared back at him from a face that could have been his own a few years down the road.

Shocked at the raw fear he saw, Naruto stumbled back from the boy's body into the nearest tree trunk, the Kyuubi's cloak receding. The genin slumped to the ground as his eyes bled back into the natural blue of his father, vacantly taking in the destruction of his own making as the death of the Oto-ninjas played out before him.

Overwhelmed at the sight of the nearly dozen dead, Naruto's gag reflex reared its head violently and his stomach emptied itself in one go. Disoriented, the jinchūriki blinked and rolled his head to right himself as his nausea began to subside.

"What have I done?" he gasped, throat raw. Quiet though the words were, they seemed to echo around the new graveyard as if the blond had shouted them to the heavens. Self disgust ripped through him as each and every one of his brutal, inhuman kills flashed before his eyes, and his head dropped to his hands as sobs threatened to rack his body.

A gurgle broke his train of self hatred, and blue eyes peered out from behind clenched fingers at the stirring body of the twelfth Oto-nin. Caked blood covered the teenager's throat, and Naruto realized with a start that the Kyuubi's chakra had completely eaten through the flesh and blood vessels, leaving the barely alive shinobi to suffocate in a pool of his own fluids.

A sob finally broke from his throat as he recalled the ninja's young face, only a few years older than his own, shrouded in absolute terror at the hellish vision of death that had torn through his comrades. The self hatred returned in full force as Naruto remembered the clear blue eyes, so like his own, that had stared back at him once the mask had been torn from the boy's face.

And yet, at the same time, three other faces flashed before him: the faces of his comrades in Team Eight. The memory of their terror at the utterly unfair situation they had stumbled into passed before Naruto's eyes, and the recollection of their panic at Kurenai's condition stirred the already churning pot of emotion in the jinchūriki.

It was the memory of Hinata, broken, collapsed and hugging herself that convinced him.

This had been necessary.

The twelve Oto-nin had had no idea what they were sprinting into when they broke through the trees by the riverbank, but they had been ready and willing to slaughter the four genin and their instructor in much the same way that Naruto had done to them. Team Eight was green, utterly unprepared for the harsh realities of the shinobi world where clans were purged and children were sentenced to death for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Before tonight they had never even seen a dead body, much less taken a life.

They would have dropped like flies, cut down without thought or remorse by the kill squad.

It was kill or be killed, and Naruto knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that all twelve of the would-be assassins wouldn't have hesitated to cut him or his comrades down.

In the end, he had decimated twelve enemy shinobi to preserve the lives of five, his own included. He had protected his teammates, his comrades in arms. He had done his duty.

He had done his duty the same way Asuma would have…

The same way his father would have.

Self-disgust gave way to a calm, cold acceptance of his actions. He was a shinobi, and shinobi killed, and died, in the line of duty. It was a truth universally accepted by those in their world who lived long enough to rack up a body count, and it was a truth that Naruto had never truly understood until now. Even the sudden death of Asuma hadn't completely reinforced that fact.

He was a shinobi, and he had done his duty. As a direct result of his actions, he and Team Eight now had a better chance of seeing another sunrise.

Twelve men had to die to ensure that his comrades would escape, and, as Naruto rose, kunai in hand to put the final Otogakure shinobi out of his misery, he found that he could live with that.

A flash of moonlight glinted off the black metal of the knife as Naruto delivered the coup de grace, and the once-again-blue-eyed boy turned his back on the riverbank graveyard and strode off into the night to rejoin his team.

He didn't look back.

/~/

Exhaustion pounded a steady beat through her body, her heart a drumbeat in the near total silence of the clearing. She could say with complete certainty that this was the most tired she had ever been in her life. Her arms could have been made of lead, while her legs might as well have been made of jelly, for all the weight they could hold. Her head felt like it weighed thirty pounds as she leaned back into the trunk of the tree she rested against, the dull thump of her hair on the bark echoing in her mind.

Yamanaka Ino was tired, deathly so, but she refused to let the medics sedate her for the journey back to Konoha. Not yet, at least.

Yamato-sensei had tried to convince her to accompany the first of the medical two teams back to Konoha with Kiba, but she had held her ground. Kiba, who had taken a kunai to the back in a skirmish before Yamato had found them, was in stable condition and was only being taken back to Konoha as a precautionary measure. She, however, was mostly unharmed, save for small flesh wounds, and needed nothing more than field medicine. With nothing impairing her save for exhaustion, Ino wasn't about to be carted off to Konoha without knowing exactly what was happening.

Not with her friends still out there.

Not with _Naruto_ still out there.

_Not that he'll want to see me_, she thought morosely, a spear of self-disgust ripping through her. _Not with how I've been treating him_.

It was truly amazing how nearly getting killed, not to mention waiting to find out if your friends had been killed, managed to put things in perspective. Her sardonic chuckle broke the silence of the clearing, causing the patrolling ANBU to perk up. Ino didn't care, though, wrapped up in her thoughts as she was.

She – she and Kiba, really – had been treating Naruto like shit stuck on the bottom of their sandals ever since Yamato had become their sensei. And, if she was honest with herself, it was only because he had decided to learn from a man she only saw as a replacement for their real sensei.

It was a childish reason by anyone's standards, and Ino shook her head at the sheer pettiness of herself and Kiba. Unbidden, Naruto's words from their fight drifted back to her:

"_I'm not. Shit happened and I'm trying to stop it from happening again! I'm trying to get stronger. __You__ two fucking around, acting like a couple of spoilt brats back in the Academy, puts __all__ of us at risk. What happens next time 'round – and there __will__ be a next time – when shit hits the fan, huh? When the chips are on the fucking table and there's no one there to bail us out? I'll tell you what happens: we _die_! I'm not about to let that happen, and if that means that I have listen to a guy who's being put in as a replacement for Asuma – and an experienced jonin at that - so be it."_

"Why d'you have to be right all the time, Naruto?" Ino asked the dead air in a whisper. The boy had been dead on the money, as usual, and Ino was left shaking her head at her own stupidity. She had let herself be blinded by loss, and had pushed away the one person she knew she would have been able to count on in any situation.

And now he was out in the wild on his own, likely fighting his way through Oto-nin just to get back. _Snap out of it, Ino! He's got Kurenai-sensei with him. He'll be _fine.

She raked a hand through her loose hair, flecks of blood from her fingernails leaving trails in her sweaty, grimy locks. Four months ago, she would have been sprinting back to Konoha simply for the prospect of a shower. Now, she waited with baited breath for the return of her teammate, caring for nothing else.

Ino vowed never to let her fellow blond out of her sight if – _when!_ she fiercely corrected herself – Naruto returned. She couldn't quite pinpoint the moment in time she had first started nursing an affection for her teammate, but she was honest enough with herself to acknowledge that she didn't think of him as just a friend or a teammate, though he certainly fell into both categories.

He was Naruto. That was all that really mattered.

It was in this moment of clarity that Yamato found her.

"They've been spotted," he said in an opening that startled the blond genin so much that she nearly jumped. The girl regained her bearings quickly, however, focusing tired aquamarine eyes on the brown orbs of her sensei. "A patrol caught up to them as they were nearing the Valley of the End; they will be there in less than half an hour."

Ino blinked, her mind flashing to a scene of blood, sweat, and pure desperation.

_Her tanto was past the point of being slippery, sticky as its handle was from the now dried blood. The dead body of a nameless, faceless Oto-nin laid face down less than five feet from her, but she barely even noticed the corpse. A simple sliced throat had downed the assassin, the motion easy from under the cover of her genjutsu._

_She turned her head to the whimpering Kiba next to her, watching detachedly as he tested the array of bandages that covered the back of his right shoulder. Akamaru cradled to his chest, he met her eyes with a defiant nod, letting her know that her hasty handiwork would hold._

_The slight breath of relief that left her lips barely touched the dead air before the telltale feeling of an egg being cracked over her head told her that her double-layered illusion had just been shattered. _

_Ino whipped around, her blond hair flying and an expression of horror etched upon her pretty face as the figures of six masked shinobi dropped to the ground opposite her and Kiba._

_The expression remained as crimson blood sprayed violently across her pale visage, her eyes fixed upon the sight of multiple wooden stakes protruding from the chests of her would-be assassins. Two branches stuck out of each man's chest, one penetrating the heart, another the liver, in a terrifyingly thorough execution. _

_The stakes receded abruptly, and each man dropped like a puppet without its strings. The sound of thumps filled Ino's ears as she raised shocked eyes to meet the icy brown orbs of her sensei, the man perched like a hawk on top of the opposite roof._

"A-are you sure?" she stuttered, trying to regain her bearings from the mental flash. Were she more alert, she would have wondered at the stupidity of asking a jonin whether he was sure about information he had received from ANBU.

The brown haired former ANBU showed no expression at the unnecessary question, opting to answer with a simple "Yes" and motioning for Ino to follow him. The blond genin scrambled to her feet hastily, fighting some small, residual dizziness from sitting for so long.

"We're going to meet them," she said mostly to herself as her sensei took to the trees. The girl flooded her legs with chakra before doing the same, silently wishing for one of Kiba's always handy soldier pills to help deal with her exhaustion.

The run to the valley was mostly a black blur to Ino, who only truly remembered anything thanks to one of the ANBU members running alongside her and Yamato. The woman had very nearly caught the blond genin at one point, before wisely offering the girl a soldier pill from her own stores.

"You should have returned to the village with your teammate," the kunoichi chastised once Ino had regained some energy.

"My other teammate is still out there," the bond returned with a bit of vitriol, uncaring of her tone. "I'm not going anywhere until I know what's happened to him," she finished in a whisper, a note of pure terror entering her voice at the thought of Naruto not returning.

_Stop that!_ she screamed at herself, shaking her head in a futile attempt to clear her mind of fatalistic thoughts.

The female ANBU next to her was silent for a few moments before, "Senpai mentioned that Uzumaki is in the company of Yuhi Kurenai and her team. Yuhi is a talented jonin, your teammate will be fine," the kunoichi soothed. Ino wasn't sure, the monotone of the woman's voice threw off her perception, but it almost seemed as if a note of pity entered the ANBU's voice at Ino's plight.

The blond nodded, shakily at first and then resolutely. "Yeah…yeah, he'll be fine," she told herself.

Ino contented herself with the knowledge that Naruto was in good hands with Kurenai and Team Eight. Letting the soldier pill go to work, the Yamanaka powered herself through the trees and towards the Valley of the End.

Waiting for her was a scene that would forever be etched into her memory.

The roar of the nearby waterfall drowned out most sound coming from her destination, but she still managed to hear the words of the head of the medical team that had been waiting for Team Eight at the border.

"Set her down _now_! Get those bandages off of her immediately, we need to repair the damage to the area ASAP," the head medic was shouting as Ino burst out of the tree line directly behind Yamato. "Get me blood pills, people! She needs it, and badly!"

All of Ino's cushy visions of Kurenai steering Naruto to safety from the depths of Rice Fields Country imploded with the force of an explosive tag at the sight of the inky haired jonin laid out on the ground, blood soaked bandages being removed from her abdomen and medical personnel scrambling for supplies around her. One medic neatly sliced the bloody cloth away with a kunai, exposing a bleeding stab wound to the kunoichi's stomach, and Ino felt her heart drop to her feet.

Visions of Asuma's head sailing skyward in a spray of blood flashed before her eyes as Ino beheld the tense scene on the riverbank, and the blond girl clapped both hands over her eyes in a futile attempt to halt them.

"No…nono_no_!" Ino breathed, panic wresting control of her thoughts. Her hands fell from her eyes as her head whipped about in an attempt to locate Naruto. "_Naruto_?" she all but screamed into the night, searching for any sign of her wayward teammate. _This can't be happening! Not now, not _him_! _

"_Naruto!_" she screamed again, just as a heavy hand fell on her shoulder and startled her out of her panic.

"Calm _down_, girl!" the female ANBU ordered, roughly slapping the blond girl across the face, nearly sending her to the ground. "Your teammate is fine." A simple jerk of her head drew Ino's gaze to the river.

The remaining three genin of Team Eight were being carried over on the backs of ANBU operatives, while a fourth ANBU walked side-by-side with the final member of the mission.

The surreal sight of Naruto striding along the surface of the river with an ANBU at his side caused Ino's eyes to widen as she took it in. In the moonlight, the damage done the Naruto's attire was far too easy to see. The black vest was torn, ripped, and even shredded in places. Off color splotches spoke of blood, though Ino couldn't be sure if it was his own. Normally sunny blond hair was dulled with grime, sweat, and blood.

A single knuckle knife spun around his left index finger idly as Naruto made his unhurried way across the river, his steps measured; tired, yet confident. Blue eyes blazed from beneath the fringe of his matted hair, taking in everything at once with the sight of a true veteran; a confidence born of lives taken and defied fate stared out at the world, daring anyone to challenge him.

Two sets of blue eyes locked from across the river, and suddenly Naruto was right in front of her, having bypassed Team Eight and covered the distance in less than an eye blink.

Ino had barely registered his presence in front of her before she had nearly tackled him, wrapping him in the tightest embrace she had ever given. Naruto, for his part, simply let it happen, gently returning the hug after the initial shock had worn off.

"I thought you were dead," Ino breathed into his chest, fighting back sobs of relief as her fatalistic thoughts and imaginings evaporated.

"Can't get rid of me that easily," Naruto grunted tiredly, slightly amused at the girl's reaction in spite of himself.

Pushing him away briefly, Ino grasped Naruto about the shoulders and held him at arm's length, surveying him up close. From less than a yard apart, Ino could clearly see the damage done to Naruto from the night's skirmishes; not all of it immediately apparent even from up close.

His body was shaking, trembling even, with pure, unadulterated exhaustion. Blue eyes, though blazing in their intensity, were shadowed, worn with the exertion that followed pinpoint focus for an extended time. Ino was no sensor, but the normal chakra output that Naruto usually radiated was nowhere to be felt, hinting at dangerously low reserves.

At a glance, Naruto was ready for another ten rounds against whatever shinobi he had doubtlessly cut down, looking every part the mythical knight in an epic. But, in truth, his body was ready to give out.

Even so, he offered her a smile, subconsciously looking to reassure Ino that everything was, in fact, just fine.

Ino, whose stomach was doing a series of acrobatics as she stared at her teammate, simply elected to encircle Naruto in her arms once more, fully believing that everything was, in fact, just fine.

/~/

**AN: A bit shorter than the last one, but substantial nonetheless, and I felt that this was the best place to close. As always, major thanks to the DLP bunch for their support, Hashasheen and Datakim especially. **

**Drop me a review if you will, your opinions help make this story better.**

**I'm so pro.**


	13. Chapter 12: Here and Now

__Disclaimer: I own nothing. Kishimoto owns Naruto, unfortunately. Although it might be Akira Toriama...

_/~/  
_

_I hate debriefs_.

"Would you be able to Henge into an image of this man?" the interrogator asked. It was standard procedure for shinobi being debriefed to transform into any and all shinobi they encountered. It made putting faces to names and techniques that much easier.

Naruto shook his head in the negative. Henge required the user to have a clear picture of the person of interest in mind. Aside from the few details that he had already listed, Naruto couldn't get a clear picture of the man in his mind. The majority of the confrontation was shrouded in a haze of heat and redness, courtesy of the Kyuubi.

"Pale complexion; yellow eyes; long tongue…" here Naruto paused, shaking his head, having been forcibly reminded just how _creepy_ the last bit was. There was no other word for it.

"Go on," the woman urged, sounding neither patient nor impatient. Merely bored; uninterested. Naruto wished he could be the same.

He ran steady fingers through his hair, long since free of the grime of the latest mission, and composed himself again. "Right; so, long tongue; average height probably; dark hair, it was long…" he trailed off once more, searching his memory for more details to describe the still mysterious jonin with.

"Can you remember anything more of the shinobi's appearance, genin Uzumaki?" the woman prodded. The blonde's eyes moved from their resting place at his feet to the face of his interrogator. She was a plain woman, utterly unremarkable save for ice blue eyes that peered into him with every question.

_Career genin_, he mused absently, noting the lack of a flak vest. _Probably_. He shook his head in answer. "No."

"And were there any other distinguishing marks or mannerisms?" The nameless kunoichi moved from one area of question to another seamlessly, making Naruto start, focused as he still was on the man's appearance.

"Talked like a woman," Naruto said before he could stop himself. He winced sheepishly as the first emotion his interrogator showed manifested itself in a glare. "Sorry. He had a feminine voice, liked to whisper, even hissed a bit. Laughed a lot, cackled. Didn't take any of us seriously," the blond finished. _Almost rightfully so_, he thought, remembering how easily the man had dismantled Kurenai. He couldn't help the feeling of vindication that surfaced at having thrown the smug jonin into a building shortly after. He was well aware that the only reason he had been able to do so was because the man had almost certainly not been expecting a jinchurriki to manifest at the time.

_Although…_ The man had known his name, had know all of their names, upon reflection. His teammates were brushed aside easily enough, as any truly experienced jonin would be able to identify all of Konoha's major clans at a glance, but surely his name was classified, or at least not easily come by. He was an orphan, for one, and Naruto had little doubt that any record of his parentage had been struck immediately following his sealing.

He supposed that it wasn't unreasonable for a jonin of another village to know of him – he doubted there was a shinobi village on the continent that didn't have a file on him, given his status – but the man had seemed _delighted_ at his presence. Like he knew exactly who he was, what he carried, and something beyond.

Troubled, Naruto chanced a look at the room's third occupant. The Sandaime sat behind his desk, hat off, pipe in hand, as stone faced as he had been the night that Naruto had learned of the Kyuubi. He was troubled, that much was obvious to Naruto. The knowledge of it was doing little to soothe the boy's nerves, already put on edge due to his reflections.

"Did the shinobi use any ninjutsu, or any techniques that would, in your estimation, require the molding of chakra?"

Naruto blinked at the question. The confrontation had been short, despite what it may have felt like at the time, no longer than a minute or maybe two at the most. It had largely been taken up by the man's speaking. The actual combat had lasted for no more than a few seconds.

"His killing intent," Naruto began, "It was connected to some form of genjutsu. I can't speak for my teammates, but when it happened I saw a vision of myself being impaled with kunai and shuriken. Other than that, he had some way of…manipulating his body."

Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto noticed the Sandaime had set down his pipe. Aged hands were folded on top of the desk, fingers interlaced, and the old man's eyes were narrowed just ever so slightly.

"Manipulating in what way, Uzumaki?" the woman asked.

_Getting there_, Naruto thought with impatience. Outwardly, he showed nothing. "He was able to move weirdly. He could bend at least ninety degrees backwards and could just…" the blond searched for the right word, "_twist_ out of the way of things. It was…unnatural." He hesitated to use the word unnatural, as by their very nature shinobi did very unnatural things, but it was the only way Naruto felt he could properly convey what had happened. No normal man, no normal _shinobi_ should have been able to avoid his attacks like that.

"I see," the unremarkable woman said, paging through the notes she had been taking since the start of the debrief. Naruto shifted in his chair idly. _No, you don't_, he thought. "And I suppose that brings us to the final segment of your mission, unless you have something more to add?" The icy eyes locked on him.

Naruto shook his head simply. He wanted to get this over with and get the hell out of the Hokage's office, though he suspected he would likely be here for some time. Debriefs were never held in the presence of the Hokage unless the Hokage himself was doing the debriefing, and that only happened when truly classified information was being discussed. And this had been no S-ranked mission, regardless of the clusterfuck it had become.

_Though I suppose I've always sort of been an exception to the rule_. _All the rules_. Naruto had known that he was special from a young age, he just hadn't known how or why. The thought that something set him apart had been a small point of pride for the young boy, and had led to many of his more arrogant presumptions. Now, it merely hung over him. Just another thing that made his life just that little bit more difficult.

"That leaves us with the final part of the mission, I suppose. Your after-action report spoke of you being ambushed by-" she leafed through her notes, "-twelve shinobi, and that you dealt with it solely while your team moved on ahead?" Her tone was just as dispassionate as it had been at the start of the interview, making Naruto wonder at just what kind of debriefs this woman handled. She didn't bat an eye at the thought of a genin killing twelve shinobi without help.

Or maybe it was just because it was him. It was out of his mind as soon as the thought occurred.

He didn't miss a beat, regardless. "It was an attack, not an ambush. They had followed us, and Hyuuga Hinata's Byakugan alerted us to their presence well before any attacks were made," he said formally. He wasn't sure why he felt the need to correct the woman; it wasn't as if the difference mattered in the slightest.

"And why was it that you dealt with the group personally, rather than with the help of your comrades?" She seemed legitimately interested in this question, if the slight straightening of her posture was any indication.

'_Cause they prolly would've ended up dead before I could have done anything_. The thought came unbidden. There was no real way of knowing how things would have turned out had Team Eight gotten involved in the fight, and Naruto was more than willing to have it that way. He had made the executive decision in the heat of the moment, and it had turned out okay in the end.

"One of my ninjutsu better allows me to deal with multiple threats than my comrades. I was also fresher, more alert, and my teammates had to be concerned with getting their sensei to safety." He ran a hand through his hair once more, eyes flickering about the room. The Sandaime had leaned back now, fingers steeped and a look of interest in his old eyes. "Directly engaging the enemy would have put Yuhi Kurenai in danger. I decided, as de facto team leader, to deal with the shinobi on my own, so that Team Eight could get a head start and hopefully get themselves and their sensei to safety in case I failed."

The thought of why a genin, not even six months out of the Academy, would have the confidence and, in theory, the self sacrifice to attempt to fight twelve men hung heavily. Naruto knew quite well that the answer was plain to all of the rooms' occupants.

Ice blue eyes shifted in discomfort, glancing at the Hokage. The apparently found what they were looking for, as the woman began anew: "Yes, yes. And you dealt with them in what way?"

"I killed them."

It must have been the utterly bland way in which he said it, for it couldn't have been the words, because the interrogator stopped short. Her blue eyes widened as they rose to meet Naruto's and stayed there for what felt like a minute, but was, in reality, only a few seconds.

Blond eyebrows slowly moved upwards, silently asking the woman opposite, "What else would you have me do?"

She got the message, if the slightly flustered look that crossed her face was any indication. Her eyes turned downward; back to her clipboard so quickly that Naruto was surprised she hadn't hurt herself in the process.

"Yes…yes…" she trailed off.

Sarutobi came to her rescue. "I think that will be enough. The rest of the mission specifics have already been covered by the rest of the debriefs and after-action reports. I'll be able to handle the rest of this session, Mei-san. If you'll leave your notes with me?"

The dismissal was clear, and the woman – Mei – rose quickly. She deposited her notes on the Hokage's desk and was out the door a moment later after a short bow, a quickly muttered "Hokage-sama" left in her wake.

Silence filled the oval office as Naruto took the opportunity to move to his customary chair, the rightmost of the two laid out in front of the Sandaime's desk. A sigh of satisfaction escaped his lips as he sunk into the chair. The old man kept the two most comfortable chairs in the whole village in his office, in Naruto's opinion. There was just the right amount of firmness, enough to give support while not sacrificing the cushion.

Naruto always sat in the rightmost chair, no matter what. He knew that chair better than he knew the single chair in his apartment. It had gotten to the point a few years back that the old man had tried to trick him…

"_Why don't you just sit in the other chair, Naruto-kun?" the Sandaime asked amusedly as he watched the demon container move the twin armchairs back to their usual positions._

"_Better view, old man," the nine year old said simply, as if that was all the answer that could possibly be required. _

_Finally finished, the blond plopped down in his proper chair with his arms crossed and an expression of the purest satisfaction upon his whiskered face, daring the Hokage to make a case against him._

_Perplexed, Sarutobi turned to stare out of his window, something he did everyday without fail. Upon spying his view of the village, the Hokage realized that, were he sitting in the leftmost chair, he wouldn't be able to see the face of the Yondaime upon the Hokage monument. The window ended just after his own face from that vantage point in the room, whereas the view of the monument from the rightmost chair was unimpeded. _

"_Well…"A soft smile graced the old man's lips as he beheld the sight, before turning back to his guest. "I suppose you're right."_

He had no desire to see the face of his father, knowing now what the man had done to him, but he kept his seat for familiarity's sake. He had been in the Hokage's office so many times, in the chair so many times, that the thought of doing something different here and now was downright distasteful. Throughout all the twists, turns, and changes of his life, the Hokage's office remained the same. Naruto took some small comfort in that.

Fond remembrances faded, and Naruto was left in the silence that had hovered in the Sandaime's office since the woman – _Mei_, he reminded himself – had left. It wasn't heavy, or truly awkward. But it was far from the more companionable silences he had shared with Sarutobi as a child, when his much used mouth had finally stopped moving a mile a minute and he had come up for air.

"Though I'm sure it is the last thing you wish to hear, I must ask: do you remember anything else of note from your confrontation, Naruto-kun?" the Hokage questioned. "Anything you might wish to tell me?"

The troubling thoughts of how the jonin had known his name returned, and he brought his eyes to the Hokage's. "He addressed Team Eight by their clan names, but he seemed to know me…personally." The blond shrugged, mostly to avoid a shiver that was making its way up his spine. "He seemed…happy that I was there, for some reason."

"Indeed?" It wasn't really a question. The Sandaime quickly jotted the information down before leaning back in his chair. A weary look passed over the old man's face for a single, suspended second, before it was erased. Blue eyes narrowed as Naruto saw the reaction. _Just who _was_ this guy_? he wondered.

Out of nowhere, the Hokage made a single hand seal. The look of concentration that had rested on his aged face faded to a sly smile, prompting a raised set of eyebrows from Naruto. The blond opened his mouth in question, but was halted when the Sandaime raised a hand for his continued silence.

"If you'll give me a moment, Naruto," he said, and the double doors to the oval office swung open not a second after.

A dog-masked ANBU strode in with purpose, a platter with two steaming hot containers of Ichiraku ramen take-out in his hands. A second followed, a cooler filled with ice and chilled bottles of lemon tea in hand.

Naruto's mouth dropped open.

"Dismissed," Sarutobi said simply. The two ANBU took their cue, retreating to the door and exiting, leaving twin calls of "Hokage-sama" behind.

Sarutobi was entirely unfazed at having been delivered lunch by ANBU Black Ops members, and leaned back in his chair with a sigh of satisfaction. The chopsticks broke with a snap, and one steaming container was pulled over and opened with relish. The old man finished his first two bites before raising twinkling eyes to meet the still shocked blues of Naruto.

"I can assure you that this is, in fact, real, and not an elaborate genjutsu, Naruto-kun. I suggest you close your mouth before you begin to catch flies, and help an old man out in finishing this lunch. It would be a shame for such a well prepared meal to go to waste," the Hokage stated wryly, the corners of his mouth twitching.

Naruto couldn't help it; he burst out laughing, shattering the formerly tense atmosphere.

"Lunch served personally by ANBU, that's a reason to become Hokage," he said.

"And what ever happened to gaining the acknowledgement of the villagers, protecting them as is your sworn duty?" the Sandaime quipped, an eyebrow quirked.

"Meaningless." Naruto waved away the statement dismissively as he snapped open and chugged a bottle of chilled tea. "Now, getting lunch served to you by ANBU agents, that's real motivation right there." An index finger shook in articulation of the boy's point as he reached to the tray to remove one of the steaming boxes of ramen.

"I'm glad you approve," the Hokage stated, sarcasm evident.

_You should be_, Naruto thought cheekily. Years previous, or perhaps maybe even months previous –before Asuma's death – he would have even said it. Now, he stayed silent, content to slurp his lunch and wait patiently for the Sandaime to arrive at the gist of this meeting.

Sarutobi, for his part, didn't bother mincing words. "Your actions during the mission were impressive. Regardless of the tools at you, ah, disposal, leading a team of genin through hostile territory is no mean feat."

Naruto shrugged, electing to keep silent still. He had never gotten used to any of the praise that Asuma had ever heaped on him, regardless of the fact that he had sought it at every turn. The same applied here.

His continued silence drew an undignified snort from the Hokage, in turn drawing a grin from Naruto.

"Come now, Naruto-kun. You were many things as a child, but quiet and modest?" The Sandaime laughed lightly, genuinely. "I think not, and none of ever truly grow so far from what we were as children; at least not at our very core."

The blond sighed. "I did what I thought was necessary to get everyone back alive." He was sick of talking about the mission as a whole. From Yamato, to the ANBU who had met him and Team Eight that the border, to his own teammates, and finally to the debrief and now the Hokage, he had told and retold the ordeal far too many times. He had no problem doing so once more – he had done what had been necessary and had no regrets – but preferred not to.

To think, he had once wished more than anything in the world to be acknowledged, to have people come up to him and ask him to tell them stories of missions past, legendary exploits; for surely a Hokage would have many stories. He shook his head; it was so tiresome.

Thankfully, the Sandaime seemed to have no desire to hear of Naruto's tale, whether because of a similar mindset or because he had already heard it numerous times, and accepted Naruto's statement without ceremony. "As would any in your position, I would like to think," said Sarutobi. "But I doubt that many, if any, your age or rank, could actually follow through. Keeping a clear head in the field is no easy feat, even for shinobi far more experienced than you."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi nodded absently, refilling his pipe and lighting it now that he had finished his food. Naruto continued to slurp away despite the more serious turn the meeting had taken. He was hungry, and the old man didn't mind. He felt more than saw the Hokage stand and make his way to the window, the cloth of the traditional robes rustling as the old man moved. Naruto knew without having to look that the Sandaime was surveying his village.

"Truly, having managed to pull your team from the ashes of near defeat is no mean accomplishment; especially as it has happened not once, but twice."

Naruto fidgeted. Unused to praise as he was, having the Hokage, of all people, glorify his achievements was uncomfortable. He didn't know how to respond.

"It is something worthy of note, and something worthy of recognition, Naruto-kun." Here, the Sandaime turned to face the blond briefly, locking eyes. Solid grey bored into Naruto's blue, taking their measure. The blond felt the need to shift and fidget, but managed to hold still through force of will. He couldn't help but feel as if the Sandaime could see right through him, dissect him with a thought and leave him bare of all of his secrets. It was a similar feeling to the one he got when he spoke with the Kyuubi.

He was nothing before this legend of a man, and he knew it well.

"It is something…worthy of reward," Sarutobi finished. The appraising look faded, replaced with something akin to pride as the man's lips curved upwards into a sort of half-smile.

"…Hokage-sama?" Naruto asked. He straightened unconsciously. _Could he possibly mean…_

A prideful smile spread across the Hokage's face as he looked down at the boy who had been a sort of surrogate grandson in his youth. To rise above the hatred of the villagers and become a skilled shinobi was something worth commending, and Naruto was well on his way to becoming exceptional. He already was in some ways.

"You've shown leadership abilities above and beyond what can reasonably be expected of a genin; any genin, not just one your age. I would be loathe to let such qualities go unrecognized – or unpunished, as it may turn out to be," the Sandaime stated with humor. "Responsibility is the price of competence, you'll find, Naruto-kun, and the rank of chunin isn't one handed out without just cause."

Naruto would have been ashamed to acknowledge that his eyes widened almost comically at the Hokage's declaration, his mouth dropping open in surprise. He couldn't help it, however.

Here, though, Sarutobi sighed, and Naruto felt an odd mix of emotions take hold. Beyond all the pride, the satisfaction and vindication, there was trepidation. Did he really want to become a chunin right now? The answer was a resounding yes, as the promotion would undoubtedly open doors for him to train and grow. And yet, he was hesitant to leave his team behind. While it was true that many teams remained together, it was still very possible that he would be shuffled into a new unit. He had built more than just friendship and camaraderie with Ino and Kiba; he had built a family of sorts. And he wasn't so naïve as to believe that he would be able to see them regularly once promoted.

The Hokage wasn't finished, however.

"However, I have one final assignment for you as a genin, Naruto-kun." Sarutobi turned back to face his village as he said it, eyes locked on the faces of his predecessors and successor.

A confused haze settled over Naruto. He knew it showed on his face, but the Hokage couldn't see it, so he said, "What do you mean, old man?" slipping into his old method of speech. The Hokage didn't hand out special assignments to genin, as far as the blond knew. _The exception to all the rules, again_, he mused.

"You are ready for a promotion, Naruto-kun, of that I'm sure. Yamato has reported much in regards to your skills and development, and your accomplishments in your few missions clearly show that you can handle the workload and uncertainty of B-ranked missions." Sarutobi turned to face the boy once more, his face serious this time. "Tell me, what do you know of the Chunin Exams?"

Naruto shrugged hesitantly. "They serve as a way for genin to be promoted outside of wartime, are held once per six months, and are rotated throughout the ninja villages."

"Indeed. What you, along with most genin, don't know, is that the exams are a substitute for war: a way for the villages to show off their best and brightest for the sake of reputation, in a way."

Naruto's mind put the pieces together rather quickly, once the Sandaime had made his declaration. "So you want to…show me off?" He had a hard time saying it, knowing how arrogant the statement sounded to his own ears.

He was relieved when the Sandaime gave him an encouraging nod. "In a manner of speaking. The exams are being held in Konoha this year, only a few weeks from now, and we will be expected to put forth a good showing. For one as young as you to participate, and to do as well as you will…"he trailed off, and Naruto filled in the blanks for himself.

"All of the members of your graduating class have been endorsed to participate as well, but only you will have a guaranteed promotion waiting for you at the end of it all," Sarutobi finished. Pride was written all over the aged legend's face as he spoke, and Naruto felt the weight of obligation come to rest on his shoulders.

The Hokage was, in effect, staking the majority of Konoha's reputation in the upcoming exams on him. He would be expected to participate, and excel to the point where a promotion was not only warranted, but expected. Beyond even that, the Sandaime looked to have all the confidence in the world that Naruto would perform to his expectations. _No pressure, Naruto._

The blond leaned back in his chair, digesting the assignment. He would be competing against genin from around the continent, and he'd have to better than all of them.

He chuckled lightly, eliciting a raised brow from the Hokage. "No pressure, right?"

/~/

"_You're good."_

_Naruto ignored the words, just as he had ignored Uchiha Sasuke's presence in his clearing for the past five minutes. He only had use of the small training ground until some shinobi of rank decided that they wanted it and ordered him out. He intended to make the most of his short time, and, as much as he might respect Sasuke's skills, Naruto wasn't about to let the boy cut into his training time unless he had something to offer._

_He snatched up six shuriken from his weapons pouch and hurled them. Each one impacted a separate target attached to a separate wooden pole. Two bull's-eyes. _

"_You almost beat me."_

"_Almost," Naruto agreed, finally stirred from silence. Another six throwing stars were grabbed and thrown. One more bull's-eye and two clangs where the new shuriken impacted the old perfect throws. _

"_That makes you better than everyone else in class," Sasuke continued. If he was annoyed by Naruto's avoidance, he didn't show it. All that was visible was the genius' trademark aloofness._

"_Maybe," returned Naruto. _Shino and Kiba both have better form, and more strengths to play to_, an inner voice that sounded like Gai told him. He threw another six shuriken. Six thumps; no bull's-eyes, no clangs. The blond scowled._

"_What is it you want, teme?" he asked Sasuke grumpily. He turned to face the raven haired boy fully, pinning him with a glare._

_Still, Sasuke was unmoved. _Asshole_. _

"_You're good," Sasuke repeated._

"_Said that already."_

_The Uchiha finally gave into his instincts and frowned. Naruto repressed a smile. "Do I really have to spell it out for you, dobe?"_

_The suppressed smile became an open scowl. "Guess so, teme. What's so important that the mighty and amazing Uchiha Sasuke is bothering me? Don't you have better things to do?" Call him petty, but the name "dobe" struck a nerve with him. He wasn't the deadlast anymore, damnit!_

_Sasuke stayed rooted in place, standing rigidly at the entrance to Naruto's clearing, hands at his sides. "You're good, and you weren't good before. You were dead last two months ago. How? What happened?"_

_Naruto shrugged. "Started doing some stuff different, started listening to some people, started caring some more, trying harder…"_

"_Why?"_

_Naruto's eyes snapped to Sasuke's onyx orbs at the syllable. But he didn't see the usual derision he got from people when they asked him why he did things. He didn't see the polite curiosity or indulgence that he got when he spoke to the Hokage. Naruto saw two eyes sizing him up, assessing him. He straightened almost unconsciously._

"_I've got some people that…" _That what? That I need to kill?_ Naruto asked himself. "People that I've gotta be stronger than."_

_He expected a shrug, a laugh, a put down or an insult to his skills. He didn't expect understanding in the eyes of the class genius. He didn't expect a nod. And he didn't expect:_

"_So do I."_

Wind whistled as the air was cut. Sharpened, matte black steel glinted ominously, wires as thin as they were deadly trailing in its wake. Six thumps sounded as the blades met wood, and the target grunted in pain.

And then the world exploded into fire as a dragon made of flames roared its fury. _Or is it the dragon that makes the flames_?

_God damn_, Naruto thought with no small amount of awe as he watched his clone's baking via Sasuke's latest instrument of destruction. _That coordination with the wires _can't _be easy. Even with the Sharingan…_

The raven haired Uchiha let the wires fall from his mouth silently, and turned to face the blond. His face was blank, save for the smallest gleam of satisfaction that rested in his Sharingan eyes. Naruto would have been hard pressed to catch the expression had he not known Sasuke as well as he did.

"Not bad," Naruto ventured, actually managing to draw a snort from his companion. "A bit slow moving at the get-go, and you'd have to have your opponent backed into a bit of a corner for them to not notice the different flight paths. Not bad though."

"Hn, thanks, dobe." Sasuke's sarcasm would have been evident to a deaf man.

Naruto's face darkened for an instant before he mastered himself. Sasuke had always been able to get under his skin with just a word. _Bastard_. "Something Kakashi showed you?" he asked instead, genuinely curious. _Doesn't seem like his style_, Naruto mused. _Doesn't look like something that gets taught, really_.

Sasuke confirmed his thoughts with a shake of his head.

"Something you came up with?" Sasuke remained silent, electing to retrieve his used shuriken from being pinned to a training log. The log itself was all but burned to a crisp and falling apart in pieces, ash gently floating to the ground. The blond scowled, both at Sasuke's non-reaction – though that was simply par for the course with the Uchiha – and at the reminder of one of Asuma's original techniques. The Hokage had been kind enough to pass on many of Asuma's personal jutsu notes to Naruto after his son's death – as the old man had no use for them. Many had been Fuuton in nature, while most of the others were Katon.

He'd have to complete the elemental conditioning tests for the Fire element before he would be ready to try any of those. And he was still plowing his way through Earth.

"Something you picked up then," Naruto concluded, having taken Sasuke's silence as a no. That was what it usually was.

The Uchiha pocketed his strewn gear and turned, mimicking Naruto by leaning against one of the remaining, intact training posts. "Hn. Something like that."

Had Naruto's suspicions not already been aroused, and had he not know his friend as well as he did, he likely would've missed the gleam in the boy's eyes as he spoke. It was a gleam that the blond had long ago determined to be madness. It wasn't overt; it was subtle, hidden, yet very much there. It was the tiny spark of insanity that Naruto knew all truly powerful shinobi possessed. It was what drove them. It was what set them apart.

It was what gave them their edge.

Naruto knew that he, himself, possessed that same insanity. That same drive; that same need for excellence that wouldn't let him stop until his goal had been achieved or he was nothing more than a corpse. On some days he wondered who was the crazier of the two of them; him or Sasuke? He didn't honestly wish to know the answer.

_Itachi_, Naruto's mind supplied. The shuriken technique that Sasuke had just demonstrated had come from his brother. It was yet another of Uchiha Itachi's homespun techniques that Sasuke had happened to witness as a child. It was yet another technique that Sasuke had been determined to master; something to put him on some measure of even footing with the man whose genius had made shinobi twenty years his senior look like mere Academy students when he was but thirteen years old.

"_Survive, Uzumaki Naruto."_

Words whispered on a midnight breeze almost seemed to drift past Naruto's ears, and the blond barely repressed a shudder. Dimly, it occurred to the blond that the same man was pushing both himself and Sasuke to greater things than all of their peers: Sasuke so as to kill the man and avenge his family; Naruto so as to survive against the might of an organization of S-ranked shinobi after the biju in his gut.

_And even with everything that's happened, I'm nowhere close to where I need to be_. The blond always did his best to keep his mind off his skill – or lack thereof – in comparison to those who would hunt him for his burden. It always depressed him. And it didn't help that he was always, in the not-so-deep recesses of his mind, wondering when some S-ranked monster might spring from the shadows and obliterate his life.

The telltale whisper of a kunai shattered his thoughts. Naruto dipped his head slightly, letting the throw that was only meant to get his attention clatter off his forehead protector.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow as the blond glared. "Didn't know you could look so deep in thought, idiot. Can't be good for that brain of yours – might pop a blood vessel."

Blue eyes rolled instinctively at the predictable slight against his intelligence. "You keep thinking that, asshole, if it helps you maintain that ego of yours. God knows you need to think you're better than me at something."

"Tch." Sasuke said nothing more, electing to stride out of the clearing in the direction of the village. Naruto fell into step beside him.

The silence stretched for a few minutes, neither participant in any need to break it. Naruto, predictably, ended it, however. "I take it you guys got nominated." It wasn't a question.

"Hn." It was a positive grunt, Naruto noted.

It came as no surprise. The village had been buzzing with the anticipation for the Chunin Exams coming up, and Naruto knew from the Hokage that all of the rookie genin teams had been put forth as participants – should they so choose to, of course. Naruto knew quite well that every single team was going to participate.

Still, "Bit surprising, though, given what you've said about your team's ah…dynamic." And, indeed, Team Seven's lack of cohesion apparently hadn't changed since he and Sasuke had last talked about it – some short time before Naruto's mission to Wave Country.

The Uchiha rolled his eyes. "Kakashi's smart enough to see a lost cause when it's right in front of him. Haruno's too immature to ever be considered for chunin, and Nara's too lazy. He implied pretty heavily that he only put us in as a learning experience."

"Think the dynamic duo picked up on it?"

Sasuke sent him a withering look at his nickname. "Nara's lazy, but the louse has a brain that he uses, whether he wants people to know or not. Haruno's got a blind spot to anything that she doesn't like bigger than the Hokage Monument. I doubt anything can get through that skull of hers unless she wants it to."

"Or it gets beaten in," Naruto surmised. Sasuke nodded sagely. "You think that's what Hatake's after?"

"Tch, probably." The Uchiha gave a long suffering sigh that made Naruto's eyes roll instinctively. _So melodramatic_. "Kakashi knows his subject but –"

"But he can't teach people who don't wanna learn," Naruto surmised. Sasuke's annoyed look at being cut off faded as he nodded.

"Got it in one, dobe," he said.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders and interlaced his fingers behind his head. "Eh, who knows? Maybe this whole thing'll be fun?"

"Hn. It better be," Sasuke said imperiously. "I need some real competition."

The blond barked a laugh. "I'm insulted!"

The Uchiha rolled his eyes, though a hesitant smirk played across his lips. "You know what I mean, idiot. Have to see how the other villages measure up. See how I compare – not that there's any real doubt, mind you."

Naruto brushed the casual arrogance away with practiced ease. "Gotta measure your capacity. I feel you." From the corner of his eye, the blond observed the Uchiha's well hidden, but still visible flinch at his words. He didn't mention it.

They had reached the village proper and stopped just outside.

"Well, places to go, people to see. You know the drill, Uchiha."

"Hn. Whatever, loser. Just don't let Yamanaka screw with your mind too much." The genius tilted his head to the side and regarded the blond for a moment. "But then, I suppose it's a bit too late for that, isn't it?" Smirking devilishly at his parting shot, Sasuke stepped into Shunshin with a 'pop', leaving a sputtering blond in his wake.

Naruto shook his head. "Tch, asshole." Channeling chakra, he took a single step forward, and let his own Shunshin carry him.

He reappeared outside the Yamanaka flower shop, following through by transitioning seamlessly into a walk. Outwardly, he showed no expression. Inwardly, he was grinning like a loon at how cool he must have looked to any observant passersby. The startled and slightly awed look of a woman whose path he crossed on his way to the door only reinforced his self absorption. _Oh yeah, I'm awesome._

The door opened on oiled hinges, and the tinkling of the welcome bell greeted his ears. The aroma of a thousand different flowers made itself known, and the blond found himself with a smile on his face. It smelt like Ino – or, rather, Ino smelt like her family's shop – and thoughts of the fairer of his two teammates almost always brought a smile to Naruto's whiskered face these days.

A man with long blond hair, slightly lighter than Naruto's own, sat at the attendant's desk, nose buried in a book. The welcoming bell alerted him to a presence in his shop, and Yamanaka Inoichi's eyes rose to look at Naruto, a greeting on his lips.

"Welcome to the Yamanaka flower shop. I think I already know how I can help you, Uzumaki-san," the semi-retired jonin said wryly. "Unless my daughter _isn't _the reason you've decided to pay us a visit."

"'Fraid not, sir," Naruto returned.

"Figures," the Yamanaka clan head murmured before he called, "Ino! You have a visitor!" Naruto shook his head in bewilderment. It always unsettled him seeing a man he knew to be both a clan head and an A-ranked jonin shinobi so at ease in domestic life.

"Coming, dad! Who is it?" Naruto heard the voice of his teammate ask.

"Your teammate," the man said ambiguously. He shared an amused glance with Naruto, both males knowing how the answer would annoy Ino.

The sound of steps coming down the back stairs reached both their ears. "_Which_ teammate, dad? Honestly…"

"The smart one," Naruto said with a smile as Ino emerged. She was clothed in a white, v-neck t-shirt and a pair of denims.

The blond girl scoffed, none-too-politely, but smiled. "I don't have a smart teammate. Try again."

"The good looking one?" Naruto ventured.

The girl gave her father a peck on the cheek and a goodbye, before slipping on her sandals and leading Naruto out. "Eh, it's better, but it sounds like something Kiba would say."

Naruto spared the Yamanaka patriarch a nod as he left the shop, and received one in return. Inoichi had always treated him with the same indifference he treated everyone else with, and Naruto wasn't ashamed to admit that it pleased him. Feeling normal wasn't something he often got to do, and he relished ever opportunity.

He returned his attention to Ino. "Probably. It's true though," he continued.

"We all know I'm the best looking one on the team, Naruto," Ino quipped casually, flipping her long hair over her right shoulder and hitting Naruto in the face. She smiled sweetly at him in response to his mild glare.

_Never been any doubt as to that_, Naruto's subconscious murmured. The boy quashed the urge to blush with sheer force of will. "If you say so," was all he said in return.

"Oh but I _do_. And we both know that I'm never wrong."

"Do we now?"

Ino nodded emphatically, a serious look on her pretty face. "Yes, we do."

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle, shaking his head. His eyes glittered with mirth in the twilight, reflecting the customary lanterns Konohans lit just before dark. "And what about that time you and Kiba got into it over how to properly manage Akamaru's stomach?"

"Doesn't count," she answered immediately.

"And why's that?"

"It's Akamaru. Kiba and his clan's judgment is always gonna win out when it comes to dogs. Even then, I still think they handled it wrong," the blond girl sniffed.

"You think that the clan that specializes in their canine familiars is wrong when it comes to how to sort out a dog's stomach problems?" Naruto asked as the duo weaved in and out of the evening traffic aimlessly. The boy snatched up a free sample some clerk was offering as he passed by.

"It was nothing a good herbal blend wouldn't have sorted out." Ino was quite sure of herself. "And besides, we both know I'm always right in an argument with Kiba," she said, swiftly swiping Naruto's sample before it could reach his mouth. The whiskered boy glared impotently as she chewed the piece of chicken with pleasure.

He settled for rolling his eyes and grabbing a new bite from a different clerk. He made sure to eat it quickly this time, giving his companion a flat look when she flashed him a grin. "Well that's for sure," he conceded. "Doesn't prove that you're always right, though."

She raised a well manicured eyebrow at him. "Have _you_ ever won an argument with me?"

Naruto chuckled. "I don't bother _getting_ into arguments with you, Ino –"

"Because you know I'll always win."

" – because I know they won't go anywhere," he finished. "Kinda like this one."

Ino, quite maturely, stuck her tongue out at him.

"And speaking of not going anywhere, where are we going, exactly?" Naruto asked. He had dropped by the flower shop for a quick hello, and was now on a trek to nowhere with his ever-confusing teammate.

"You're buying me dinner," Ino stated quite confidently.

"I am?"

"Mhm!"

"Says who?" Naruto asked with a laugh in his voice.

His companion favored him with a withering look. "You mean you drop buy my house at dinner time, lead me out into the village, and you _don't_ plan to buy me dinner? I thought that's what we were doing."

"Who the hell said that? I know it wasn't me. And what do you mean 'lead you into the village'?" Naruto asked, incredulous. "I just came by to say hello; you pulled me out of the shop."

Stopping in the middle of the street, Ino let the traffic flow around them as she batted her eye lashes at Naruto, smiling sweetly. "Are you saying you don't _want_ to buy me dinner?"

_Oh, for the love of God…_ "Never said that."

"So you _do_ wanna buy me dinner!" Ino squealed. She looked for all the world to have received the greatest gift in the universe.

"Why not?" Naruto conceded. If he bothered to protest, she would just lead him around long enough for him to cave anyway. He figured he'd save himself the trouble.

"Yay! And why wouldn't you want to buy me dinner?" she asked rhetorically as she latched onto his left arm. "You get to bask in my presence for even longer."

Naruto couldn't help the smile that blossomed on his face. "How could anyone say no to that?"

"I dunno. I'm pretty amazing."

"Not suffering from a lack of self esteem are we?"

Ino favored him with her best 'Bitch, please' look. "Not even slightly."

"Didn't think so, but I'm glad we cleared it up."

"Are you?"

"Yup."

They drifted in silence for a few minutes, still with no destination in mind, before Naruto decided to get the whole dinner part of this impromptu date over with before it got too late. _Is it a date_, he wondered, not really knowing the answer.

"So, where do you wanna eat?" he finally asked.

"Dunno. Pick someplace."

"Why don't you?"

Ino shrugged. "I'm not great at picking. Too many choices; I always regret not eating someplace else afterwards."

"Am I seeing a flaw in Yamanaka Ino's perfection?" He mock gasped.

His companion merely scoffed. "Hardly," she said. The girl elbowed him in the ribs for good measure. Naruto just laughed.

They eventually settled on a sushi stall just off the main avenue, close to the administration building. Naruto had been more than a little disgruntled when Ino had told him, in no uncertain terms, that ramen was not an option. They had left twenty minutes later, Naruto's pockets relieved of many of the ryo he had been carrying. The blond had some disposable cash these days – what with the upgraded pay he received from the missions that had gone awry and Zabuza's bounty – but he hadn't planned on paying for dinner for someone other than himself.

"Naruto-kun, where exactly are we going?" Ino asked softly. Night had fallen completely, and Naruto realized that he had been leading them towards the Hokage Monument.

_Old habits die hard_, he thought wryly. He debated his course of action for a second, before deciding to proceed as he would have normally, even with Ino there. It wasn't like he was the only ninja who ever sat on the old Hokages' heads; he was likely just the most frequent visitor.

"Up," he said. He didn't give Ino time to question him before he gripped her tightly, lifted her slightly off the ground, and whirled into Shunshin.

They reappeared on top of the Sandaime's head less than a moment later, with Naruto significantly more composed than the distinctly ruffled Ino. A shriek escaped her lips that hadn't had time to properly form back on the ground.

"Don't _do_ that!" she practically screamed at him as he let her down. She hit him on the chest when all the boy did was laugh.

"Ah, but it's so much _fun_, Ino-chan," he said cheekily. She only glared at him. "Eh, don't be complaining. You've got the best view in the village." Naruto turned his gaze from his pretty teammate to the breathtaking view of Konoha proper, alit as it was with an orange glow that emanated from the hundreds of lanterns.

He felt Ino sidle up next to him, her own eyes trained on the village. "It is nice," she whispered.

Naruto snorted. "Nice? That's it?"

The girl shrugged. "I've seen better."

"Oh yeah? When?" Naruto was skeptical.

His companion grinned impishly at him. "Every time I look in the mirror, Naruto-kun."

The ensuing laughter might have been heard by the whole village.

Finally managing to regain his breath, Naruto favored his teammate with a shake of his head. "You're impossible."

"You love me."

They drifted into silence for a time, neither needing to fill the quiet. At some point, they sat down, Ino curled up against Naruto's right side as a cool breeze whispered past.

"Naruto?" the blond girl asked after a time.

"Hmm?" the whiskered boy looked down to find Ino's head resting on his shoulder, her gaze turned outwards.

"Thanks."

He gave the top of his companion's head a questioning look. "For?"

"This." Ino gestured with her free right arm to the view they were currently enjoying. "And for getting me out of my house."

Naruto neglected to mention that she had been the one to drag him out into the village.

"My mom's been…suffocating lately," she began. "Ever since Wave, really, but this last mission really pushed her over the edge."

Naruto, unfamiliar with the concept of parental concern, simply let her continue, doing his best to ignore the familiar pang of loneliness that arose every time he was reminded that his parents were both dead and gone. Unbidden, his eyes flickered to his father's face to his left. They stayed for less than a second.

"She married my dad at the tail end of his active duty career, when he was being groomed to be the next clan head. She's not really…used to having anyone she really knows and loves in danger, and it's scaring her." Ino sighed, and Naruto felt her whole body sag slightly against him. "She keeps trying to talk to me about taking up an administration position. Or at least something away from real missions."

"And your dad? Surely he understands," Naruto ventured tentatively. He was unused to having people pour their hearts out to him. He couldn't say that he liked it, but it was Ino. And for that reason and that reason alone he would do his best.

She shook her head. "He does, but he doesn't stop her. I'm pretty sure some part of him doesn't want me in the field either. He just sits by and lets her nag and nag and nag and it just…_gets_ me! They don't get it! They don't get it or they don't care! I don't wanna be just some career genin or mid-level chunin who works in the village all the time. That's not what a kunoichi does…"

Naruto found himself nodding along with her, though he was a little surprised by her vehemence. He had felt much the same as a child, back when becoming Hokage had been the only thing that mattered to him. And he still felt it a bit now. The allure of excellence, of leaving your mark on the world – it was something many shinobi felt and dreamed of, though only a few ever achieved. The fear of anonymity and mediocrity was a real one, and was likely doubly terrifying to a proud perfectionist like Ino.

"No it's not," Naruto found himself saying, though he had no idea where it was coming from. "And that's not what you're gonna do." He said it with a certainty that left no doubt as to his confidence in her. He even surprised himself a little with it, realizing that he had quite a bit of faith in his fellow blond. His respect for her had risen astronomically since the formation of Team Ten, and she never failed to beat his expectations.

She was someone Naruto not only liked, but felt that he could trust with his back at all times.

"How can you be so sure?" Ino asked meekly from his side. The fear of failure had reduced her voice to a near whisper. "How can you know?"

"Because I know you."

Ino's blue-green eyes lifted to meet Naruto's steady gaze. The boy didn't waver for a moment, keeping his eyes locked on his companion's until she averted her gaze, a small flush that Naruto could feel rather than see adorning her cheeks.

He shifted his eyes back to the village, basking in its nighttime glory once more. "Believe me, if you don't believe yourself."

"I do," Naruto heard her whisper as she turned her own gaze back to the village.

Silence stretched once more, and Naruto found himself lost in thoughts of himself, the girl at his side, and the future. The thoughts fell to nothingness when his brain registered a soft pressure on his right cheek, and he realized that Ino was kissing him.

He couldn't help the wave of goose bumps that covered him as he tried to repress a shiver and stiffened. Slowly, Ino's lips left his cheek, and Naruto turned his face to meet that of his teammate's. Their eyes met and held, and by some unspoken agreement leaned towards each other.

Their lips met in the middle, tentatively, softly, and stayed for a few seconds that, to Naruto, felt like nearly a minute. He pulled back slightly, opening the eyes that he hadn't realized he had closed, and watched Ino do the same. A small smile flitted across her lips, and Naruto couldn't help himself and did the same.

Again, by unspoken agreement, their lips met, and Naruto came to the conclusion that he liked kissing Ino. _Might have to do it again sometime_, some distant part of his brain supplied.

They broke after a minute of testing the waters, smiling slightly at each other the whole time. Leaning back, Naruto shifted so that his right arm was wrapped around Ino's chest, pulling her into him.

"Been meaning to do that for a while now," his companion said quietly.

Naruto nodded. "Think you might do it again?"

Ino shrugged. "I'll think about it."

He chuckled throatily, pulling his teammate into a one armed embrace.

No words passed between them for some small amount of time, before:

"You do realize that Kiba's gonna give us so much shit for this."

"Oh yeah."

/~/

**AN: Well, it's been a while. Inspiration ebbs and flows, comes and wanes. The usual. Sorry about the wait nonetheless. **

**Thanks to all the DLP crew, especially Hashasheen and Datakim. ****This chapter wouldn't be nearly as good without any of them.**

**Until next time,**

**I'm so pro...**


	14. Chapter 13: Transitional States

/~/

The twin double doors opened with their characteristic squeal. As per the usual, the eyes of every genin in the room shifted to the newcomers, silently appraising.

Team Ten paid their counterparts no heed as they strode in without pause, Naruto in the lead; the trio not bothering to stop and stare at the dozens of genin already in the examination room. Eyes forward and strides confident, the Konoha team moved to a corner of the room that was unoccupied, on the left as they walked in. The three sat down in a line, backs to the wall and facing the door.

The eyes of the room stayed fixed on them for nearly a full minute before gradually going back to whatever had held their attention before. The silence that had held dominance in the room faded to the hum of idle chatter as the teams relaxed once more.

Almost directly across the room from the newly arrived Team Ten, a trio of nondescript Konoha genin observed.

"I count three," the only female of the three said.

"Four," the two boys stated simultaneously. They exchanged quick grins as the girl looked exasperated.

"Who'd I miss? I got the Suna team, one Kusa team, and the Oto squad."

"You're off you're game today, Yamanaka," Kiba snarked quietly from under his Henge. He neatly blocked the sharp elbow to his ribs that the disguised Ino sent his way. "You missed the Konoha team off to the back."

"The older ones?"

"Yup," Naruto spoke up from Ino's left. He was disguised as a tall boy with close cropped brown hair and a small scar above his right eye. "One of the masked ones was about to dispel the illusion before the silver haired one stopped him."

"Close call then."

"Mhm."

The genjutsu had been Ino's idea. Having discreetly bypassed the disguised room 301 on the floor below, the female blond of Team Ten had come up with the idea to cover themselves in a Henge and enter the real room 301, while an illusionary trio would enter later on. By checking the number of people or teams that recognized both a Henge and a genjutsu just by being exposed to it – not to mention the ones who connected the dots and suspected both the Henge'd Team Ten and their illusionary doppelgangers – the three could neatly identify many of the more formidable genin in the exam.

"Well, that shows us which ones can actually sense a genjutsu and which ones just kept on up the stairs," Kiba said again, a small chuckle escaping his lips.

"That was the idea, idiot. Thanks for pointing out the obvious." Ino's sarcastic reply drew an eye roll from Naruto. _Here we go again_…

"Hey! Don't be calling me an idiot, blondie. Me and Akamaru sniffed out the genjutsu down below just as quick as you did."

The red-headed Ino opened her mouth – a biting reply about relying on his familiar's heightened senses no doubt on her lips – but Naruto beat her to the punch.

"Shut up, both of you. You're gonna blow our cover if you keep this up." The boy's patience was thin with both of his teammates. His statement was met with a grudging nod from Kiba, but Ino scoffed lightly.

"Come off it, Naruto. No one's paying any attention to us anymore; us or us over there," she finished with a vague gesture in the direction of their doppelgangers.

Naruto's rebuke was as cold as ice. "We're in an exam with the best genin from every village. _Some_one's watching us, we just don't know it. And even if they're not, you really wanna attract attention in a room chock full of people who're probly gonna be trying to kill us pretty soon? I know I don't."

His fellow blond – under normal circumstances of course – grimaced with a nod. Her gaze turned back to the room at large, but not before Naruto caught the slight look of hurt in her eyes that couldn't be masked.

Naruto winced. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm just on edge with this whole exam. Nerve wracking, you know?"

Both his teammates nodded, and Ino gave him a hesitant, reassuring smile. "We get it, Naruto," she whispered. She covered his hand with her own and gave it a squeeze. The boy couldn't help the quick smile that spread across his face at the contact.

To Ino's right, Kiba rolled his eyes as he noticed the byplay. "Please tell me you guys aren't gonna get all lovey-dovey on me now that you're making out. If you are, just lemme know and I'll kill myself."

His quip drew a glare from Ino and a flush from Naruto. Before either of them had the chance to retort, however, the telltale squeaking of the double wooden doors heralded the entrance of yet another team.

Naruto dropped Ino's hand and formed the cross shaped seal for the Kage Bunshin; his signal. The three Shadow Clones that were in the spaces that the illusionary Team Ten occupied stared back at their creator and nodded a single time.

Ino took her cue, layering an illusion over hers, Naruto's, and Kiba's current position. All three members of Team Ten executed a seamless Kawarimi with their counterparts, appearing on the opposite side of the room and staring back at their former disguises.

An impulse tingling, Naruto lightly tapped his fellow blond on the shoulder, letting her know that his clones had performed their own Henge's. Ino dropped her illusion without a word, her eyes swiveling to take in the forms of the new team, Naruto's Shadow Clones doing the same.

In the commotion of the doors opening once more, no one had noticed Team Ten's deception.

Naruto's own blue eyes looked to the doors, and the boy couldn't repress a smile when he saw Team Seven enter, followed closely by Team Eight. Chouji and Shikamaru were engaged in conversation at the back, while Shino and Hinata stuck close to each other. Predictably, Sasuke was the first into the room, followed closely by Sakura. The Uchiha paused just inside the room, onyx eyes calculating and seemingly surveying all the occupants with a single glance.

The imperious look that Naruto was so familiar with settled itself on Sasuke's face as the boy led the two rookie teams into room 301, and the blond couldn't help but roll his eyes. _Sasuke will be Sasuke_.

"Well, well, well; look what the cat dragged in," Kiba drawled loudly, eyes glittering. Naruto almost rolled his eyes at the ever-predictable taunt. Ino had no such restraint.

The eyes of everyone in the room immediately shifted to Kiba, Sasuke's included. The trademark, ever-familiar sneer fell into place as both rookie teams moved to join Team Ten.

"Better what the cat dragged in than what the dogs left in the kennels, mutt. How's your family?" Sasuke returned. His voice was bored but his eyes glittered at the prospect of one of his favorite pastimes.

"Play nice, you two," Naruto interjected, before Kiba had the chance to make a comment about Sasuke's family that would earn him a quick ticket to pain. "We're all friends here."

"Tch," it was Sasuke's drawl this time. "Though some of us are better friends than others, hn?" The words were said in the same bored voice, but Naruto easily caught the undercurrent of annoyance in them.

The blonde's mind connected the dots quickly, noticing his friend's pink haired teammate looking at Ino weirdly. _Sakura must be more annoying than usual since she found out about me and Ino_, Naruto surmised. He offered his friend a shrug for his troubles and nothing more. The Uchiha settled for rolling his eyes.

"How's Kurenai?" Naruto asked Team Eight at large, once the posturing had finished. He hadn't seen the injured jonin since Kiba had been discharged from Konoha's medical center. She had still been recovering from her stab wound when Naruto had last checked, though he felt she must have been out by now.

"Well, Naruto-san," Shino answered. Chouji was still talking pleasantly with Shikamaru, and Hinata was never one to speak unless she absolutely had to. "She is almost fully recovered from her injuries and wishes for us to pass on her thanks for your actions during the mission. I have no doubt she would like to do so personally at her earliest convenience, though I do not know when that is."

Naruto nodded his acceptance and thanked Shino quickly. _Got the personality of a brick wall, that one_.

Meanwhile, Ino and Sakura had managed to get themselves into an argument of some kind. The volume was quickly escalating, and Naruto moved to shut the two up before someone beat him to it.

"Can you guys shut up over here?" a quiet voice asked. The three teams turned to face the silver haired, pony-tailed genin who had stopped his teammate from dispelling Ino's genjutsu. "You're all rookies, right? Fresh out of the Academy. This isn't some school field trip, you know."

"And you are?" Kiba asked for the group. The dog-ninja was clearly unimpressed by the older Konoha nin's rebuke.

"Kabuto. Yakushi Kabuto," the older boy said with an easy smile. "And you guys outta start paying attention to your surroundings."

The nine rookies took their cue, and glanced about the room. Most of the occupants were absorbed in their own business, or watching their competitors, looking for an edge. There were a select few, however, that were eyeing the grouping of Konoha ninja like they were pigs ripe for slaughter. Among them were the Otogakure team that Naruto and Team Ten had pegged as dangerous earlier, and a few different Amegakure squads that looked to be on the verge of committing murder in the examination room.

It was the Rain-nin that Kabuto gestured to, a serious look on his face. "See those Ame-nin over there? They're rather well known for having short tempers. I'd suggest piping down before you cause a scene. Everyone's nerves are a bit frayed cause of the exam, and you never know when someone's composure might…slip."

"Good advice," Shikamaru grunted. The lazy genius was far from spoiling for a fight.

"My pleasure," Kabuto said, and the easy smile returned. "You guys remind me of how I used to be."

Sakura took the opportunity to pounce. "Kabuto, right?" She continued at his encouraging nod, "So this is your second time taking the exam?"

The easy smile faded into the range of self deprecating. "Seventh actually," Kabuto admitted, amid the myriad of scoffs and expressions of disbelief. "Twice a year for the past three, and now this one."

"You must be pretty experienced with these then," Sakura continued, though she seemed less enthusiastic about accepting any form of help from someone who had failed so many times. Naruto didn't blame her, as his first impulse was to dismiss the older genin out of hand for the exact same reason. The blond, however, was curious.

_Weird. He should've passed by now_. _Or died_, Naruto thought morbidly, mind racing.

The Sandaime had said that the exams were a replacement for war; a place where each village could show off its best and brightest to lure clients and exert dominance. One just didn't fail the exam six times. Eventually it became a waste of resources, sending a genin to other villages only to fail each time. Beyond that, Sarutobi had made it rather clear that killing was a large part of each exam – though the way it was gone about was different in every village. If Kabuto was skilled enough to not only be nominated seven times by his jonin instructor, but skilled enough to not end up dead…

"Well I like to think of each exam as a learning experience," Kabuto was saying animatedly. A deck of blank looking cards had made its way to his hands. "Every time I take an exam I get just a little bit better, and I get more information about everyone who takes them."

"Six times…you've gotta have a lot of info then, huh?" Naruto asked mildly. He was intrigued despite himself.

A proud smile fixed itself on Kabuto's face. "I'd like to think so, certainly. I keep what I've collected in these cards here. Everything from info on the different villages, to specific ninja, to even ninjutsu. I can keep it all here." He gestured to his deck of cards as he spoke, and laid one out on the floor for the rookies to see.

The Konoha genin gathered around just as Kabuto stuck a finger to the center of his card, presumably channeling chakra into it. A map of the Elemental Nations appeared instantaneously, followed by an easy to read bar graph that rose from each of the countries.

"This card, for example, shows the number of applicants in this exam, and their breakdown by country," the silver haired genin explained to his enraptured counterparts. "As you can see, Konoha had the most applicants in this year's exams, for obvious reasons. While on the other hand, Otogakure no Sato has only sent one team. They're a newer village, with fewer shinobi and resources to send out a larger selection."

Naruto was impressed. The technique was one that obviously required pinpoint chakra control, so as to both imbed the image and then to call it up at will. Kabuto also had to be able to remember the exact chakra pattern for each specific info card, no mean feat.

"You said you had info on specific shinobi?" That was Sasuke, and Naruto felt himself drawn into the conversation simply by virtue of his friend bothering to ask a question at all. The Uchiha was intrigued as well, it seemed.

Kabuto nodded, and Sasuke plowed forward. "Sabaku no Gaara of Suna," the Uchiha prodigy demanded. Naruto immediately registered the name as dangerous. Sasuke wouldn't have bothered otherwise.

A single eyebrow rose behind the older genin's spectacles. "Someone you're worried about? Shouldn't be too hard; you took all the fun out of it by giving me his name…" He flipped through his deck for a moment, before coming to a stop at a seemingly random card. "Ah, here we go. Sabaku no Gaara. Keep in mind that all my intel isn't perfect…" the genin trailed off as he channeled chakra into the card, and the image of a short, red haired boy – Naruto recognized him from the Suna team he and his squad had identified – popped up.

"Sabaku no Gaara: rookie out of Sunagakure. Has taken eight C-ranked missions and…damn, one B-ranked. That's downright impressive for a genin," Kabuto said. "Huh, it appears that he's come back from every mission completely unharmed…"

Nervous tittering passed through the group of rookies, each one considerably impressed and wary. The only ones unaffected were Sasuke and Naruto. Sasuke because he had already met the mysterious Suna genin; Naruto because he had simply stopped listening to Kabuto the instant he had started talking about mission history.

_Who _is_ this guy?_ Naruto thought, his mind ablaze as theories were created and discarded at the speed of thought. _Mission history is classified B-rank info for anyone in Konoha. And this guy has it on some random genin from Suna…_

Naruto knew from his frequent trips to the Shinobi Archive that all mission history was reserved for shinobi of chunin rank or above – B-rank – and that was only in Konoha. For Kabuto to have such classified information about a genin from another village, allied though Suna was, it hinted at skills that the silver haired boy was concealing, and quite well. He also carried the information around freely, which while might be considered stupid by many – Naruto included – hinted at skill the boy wasn't letting anyone see. Kabuto had to be able to protect the same information that he flaunted so easily.

_Infiltration specialist_, Naruto concluded quickly. _And a damned good one_. Of course, Kabuto's hidden competence raised even more questions in the blond genin. He was a Konoha ninja – his hitai-ate said as much, not to mention he was helping a group of Konoha-nin – but what else was he. Was he an ANBU plant, sent into the exams to gather information about foreign ninja?

It would certainly explain why he was still being nominated for the Chunin Exams after having failed six times.

Naruto's mind, awhirl as it was, couldn't decide whether to trust or distrust the genin, based on his skill.

"So…are all the genin like that?" Sakura whispered. The pink haired girl, who had been content, if not brimming with confidence, was visibly shaken at the knowledge of Sabaku no Gaara's résumé. Chouji, Hinata, and even Ino looked to be feeling the same way, while Shikamaru looked even more annoyed than usual. Kiba and Sasuke were unaffected.

Kabuto's smile was all reassurance. "There are some standouts, yes. Kusa, Konoha, Suna, Ame, Oto…well perhaps not Oto – it's a new village – everyone in this room is one of the best and brightest from their village. That includes you guys, even though you're rookies. Keep that in mind and you'll be fine."

_Heh_, Naruto thought, concerns about Kabuto pushed aside for the moment as he scanned the room of hopefuls. _Maybe Sasuke's right. Maybe this will be fun_.

"Well, that's all I've got for now for you guys," Kabuto was saying. "Good luck to you all and –"

The silver haired genin cut himself off, eyes cutting to the form of a single genin who had launched himself into the air. The boy, garbed in grey camouflage and a mask style hitai-ate, drew and launched three kunai at Kabuto's unsuspecting form.

The elder genin retreated quickly to avoid a skewering, letting the blades thump harmlessly into the wooden floor. His attention on his attacker, he was unprepared for another genin to appear in his face and swing a brutal, gauntlet covered fist towards his face. The silver haired boy leaned back to avoid the blow and made space quickly.

"Nice dodge," the second attacker grunted, his voice muffled due to bandages that covered his entire face save for one eye. "But then…it really wasn't."

The rookies and Kabuto had only a moment to process the arrogant statement before Kabuto's glasses shattered, and the boy ended up on the ground vomiting as his inner ear was spun through a vortex.

"What a pathetic showing from a supposed veteran," the bandaged ninja condescended. He was joined by the boy who had thrown the kunai, and a girl with long hair who was dressed in the same grey camouflage. "Put this on your cards: the genin from Otogakure are sure candidates for Chunin."

"Don't be too sure about that," a voice whispered in the leader's right ear. The single eye widened almost imperceptibly as cold steel touched his jugular vein. The sound of light buzzing in the air filled his ears at the same moment he realized he couldn't move.

"Nice one, Shika," Ino complimented, her tanto drawn and poised to slit the throat of the lone Sound female. The Nara offered no response, focused as he was on the jutsu that had neatly immobilized the three foreign genin.

"You three come up in here, acting like you're hot shit. Didn't anyone in that hole you call a village ever teach you not to fuck with a ninja on his home turf?" Naruto asked from in front of the Oto leader. His clone pressed its knife harder against the genin's neck, causing a thin trail of blood to appear.

"The genin from Otogakure can't be sure candidates for Chunin if they're too imbecilic to attack a Konoha-nin when he's surrounded by allies." Sasuke's voice was as bored as his expression, though the Uchiha held the final genin by the back of the neck and a kunai at the base of his spine.

All the rookies were in similar states of alarm, Naruto noticed with a glance. Kiba had his claws bared; Chouji had his fists enlarged; Shino's bugs were all but invisible, but their buzzing was steadily increasing in volume; Hinata had dropped into a reflexive Jyuken stance, and Sakura held a kunai loosely even as she helped Kabuto to his feet. A feral grin broke across the jinchūriki's face.

The exams technically hadn't started yet, and Naruto realized that they would be well within their rights to execute the Oto genin right then and there just as a series of pops filled the stunned silence that had held the rest of the room captive.

"_Shut up_, you worthless maggots," a voice boomed. A group of grey garbed ninja appeared at the front of the room amid the smoke of multiple Shunshins . At their head was a scarred man with a bandana on his head and a trench coat over his torso.

"What's this?" the trench coat wearing man asked, incredulous. He pointed a finger to the back of the room, where the rookie nine held the Oto-nin captive. "You, back there! There is no fighting and no killing unless I specifically say so! Do you want to fail?"

Naruto's face was set in stone. "Just defending a friend, examiner-san." His clone dispelled just as Sasuke and Ino removed their blades and Shikamaru withdrew his jutsu. The Oto genin didn't waste time in making space.

An ugly smile spread across the examiner's face. "Heh, can't fault you for that. But don't let me catch it happening again, and that goes for _all of you_. Anyone who attacks another examinee will be out of here faster than you can blink."

The Otogakure genin scurried back to their places, but not before shooting Naruto and the rest of the rookies a glare that promised pain. Naruto returned it with a sneer that could rival Sasuke's. _Fuckers_.

"My name is Morino Ibiki," the examiner announced, the ugly smile firmly in place. "And welcome to the First Exam."

/~/

"Good crop this year."

The closed circuit feeds that were hidden throughout Room 301 flashed in front of the scarred man's eyes. No techniques went unobserved, no angle unseen. Ibiki stared at the genin under his thumb from the Academy's surveillance room, while an elaborate clone proctored. There had been the usual griping from the Research and Development department about having to imbed a full blown chakra network into a pile of mud with Ibiki's face, but caution had won out in the end. There was no sense in letting everyone in on the ruse should some chakra perceptive genin put the pieces together – or if some idiot decided to take his newfound failure out by attacking the head proctor.

"Tch, just the usual shit from these guys, Ibiki. You're slipping, that's what I think," the man's lone companion spoke up.

Konoha's head of Intelligence rolled his eyes at his subordinate's voice. "I don't make the questions, Anko, just the final one. Over half of this group will be gone by the time I'm done."

"Care to bet on that?" The purple haired woman tossed him a devilish smirk.

"No."

"Ah, come on…"

"No means no, Anko."

"You're no fun." She pouted, though the cuteness was entirely lost on Ibiki. It was likely because he worked with her. Beyond the otherwise pretty face lay a mind that was as twisted as any in the shinobi world; easily as twisted as his own or even more so. In his lower moments he wondered if such a thing was conducive to loyalty, before brushing it aside as he did with just about everything that was Mitarashi Anko. The woman wasn't worth much thought; it only ever led him in circles.

The scarred man couldn't help his smile as he watched his doppelganger dispatch another trio of genin.

"Izumo got that one," he heard Anko murmur from beside him. Ibiki nodded absently as he watched two furious wannabes join their shamed teammate. "Tch, missed it myself…"

"You're too focused on one detail without seeing the bigger picture, Anko," the superior lectured. "You'll never catch any decent number if you don't observe how things react with each other in that room, rather than looking at one particular genin."

The woman sneered. "Is that what you told those losers when you were teaching them?" She nodded to the group of examiners. His smug silence was all the answer she needed, and the sneer morphed into a scowl.

It transformed into disgust as she moved her eyes to a different feed. "God, I wish we could fuckin' disqualify the goddamn bloodlines. Fuckers don't have an original bone in their bodies."

Ibiki's own eyes moved to where Anko's rested, watching as two Hyuugas and the last Uchiha took full advantage of their eyes. Exasperation crept up the man's spine at his subordinate's familiar hatred of all things kekkei genkai. It was speculated that Orochimaru's ruthless pursuit of perfection had been largely due to the abundance of skilled bloodline users in Konoha. It was predictable that Anko, who hated everything that had to do with her former sensei, would come to resent the people who embodied the reason for the man's betrayal.

It was unreasonable, however, and Ibiki sighed. "They can't be blamed for using what they were born with. And if they're caught they get written up the same as everyone else."

"Two points, Ibiki. Your ridiculous fuckin' rule makes it so that they can openly use their eyes and not get disqualified fully. That's bullshit right there."

The man rolled his eyes. "You know the purpose behind the test, Anko. You know they're _supposed _to cheat. If they happen to be…genetically predisposed to doing well, then good for them."

His eyes flickered to another screen and his voice cut the purple haired woman off before she had time to retort. "I'm more concerned about these jokers." He pointed to a trio of Konoha genin who had been docked four times each, each time more ridiculous than the last.

One had had the gall to openly copy an answer from the Grass-nin next to him.

Anko watched incredulously as Ibiki played back the tape of the three on a separate screen. "Who the fuck _are_ these guys?" She seemed caught between open disgust and humor at watching three wannabes take Ibiki's two point deduction rule to the limit. "Can you please disqualify these fuckers? I'm starting to get offended, Ibiki."

The head proctor snorted. "It's done. This one just got caught a fifth time." He pointed to a red haired girl who stood up. Her two Konoha teammate followed quickly, expressions of rage fixed on their faces.

Anko shook her head with a laugh. "They can't have seriously thought they'd get away with some shit like that? The hell is this village coming to? I'm tempted to go kill their sensei just for nominating them. How 'bout you?" The woman turned as Ibiki brushed past her and moved to a new monitor. "Ibiki?"

The scarred special jonin typed a few letters on a nearby keyboard, and a side-screen lit up with the image of the three disqualified genin walking briskly down the hallway away from room 301.

"I'm curious," was all the man offered.

"About three losers who shouldn't've been nominated in the first place? Tch, suit yourself."

Ibiki brushed aside his companion's criticism with practiced ease. His stubbornness was rewarded a minute later, and his eyes widened almost comically as the three shared a smirk before disappearing in identical clouds of smoke.

"Kage Bunshin," Ibiki breathed, stunned. His stupor lasted for a moment only before he burst into a flurry of motion and button pressing. The examiners hadn't bothered screening the genin in room 301, given that the location was known only to the genin, a select few jonin, and the examiners. And yet three Kage Bunshin had infiltrated the exam for some unknown purpose…

"Anko, bring up footage of the three who were just disqualified. I want them from the second they set foot in the building," he barked.

A smarted shinobi would have followed the order without question, yet Anko raised her eyebrows. "Those losers? The fuck you want them for?"

"Just do it!"

"Calm your tits, Ibiki," the woman muttered, sifting through footage of the examinees with trained eyes.

The image of the three in question came up, and Anko followed it backwards at a good clip – from their entrance to the room and earlier – until the three simply disappeared into smoke. "The fuck?"

"Slow it down," Ibiki ordered. Anko did as she was told, and froze the image of the three disappearing into smoke. Her superior moved in front of her, calling up the same image from a different camera that gave a better view of the side room the genin had been in when they were formed.

The screen blinked once, and the image of three Konoha genin standing abreast greeted the two proctors. A blond boy, a blond girl, and a brown haired boy with a dog.

"Asuma's Team Ten," Ibiki stated, having recognized both the Kyuubi Container and the daughter of his old boss. Anko nodded absently, watching intently as Naruto formed the cross shaped seal for the Kage Bunshin and three doppelgangers appeared in front of him.

The two proctors shared an incredulous glance, both at the kid knowing the technique and at the deception, before quickly moving to the screens that were streaming live.

"Got'im," Anko called, pointing to the blond boy sitting next to one of the Hyuugas she had disparaged earlier.

Naruto sat expressionless, carefully yet quickly writing nine answers down on his test paper.

Ibiki shook his head. The Kage Bunshin allowed for the user to absorb information from its clones instantaneously. The boy had gotten all the stolen answers in the span of a single second when his clones had dispelled.

Anko whistled appreciatively from next to him. "Goddamn…"

"The kid's good," Ibiki admitted.

Unperturbed and unaware of the awe he had inspired in his superiors, Naruto sat in room 301 having just finished writing the answer to the ninth question.

/~/

_That's unhealthy. _

The purple haired woman was insane. And it wasn't just your run of the mill shinobi insanity either. The female proctor was certifiably bat-shit crazy, in Naruto's esteemed opinion.

It wasn't the way she had announced herself – by hurling herself through a third story window with a banner proclaiming her as the second exam's proctor. It wasn't the way she dressed – a full fishnet bodysuit covered only by a beige trench coat that was doing a wonderful job of distracting most of the male applicants. And it wasn't even the glint of _something_ in her eyes that let everyone who looked at her know that this woman was dangerous – and not just in the usual ways.

_No one should ever look at the Forest of Death with that kind of familiar fondness_, Naruto concluded, shaking his head. Training Area Forty Four was referred to as such by anyone who had had the honor of visiting it, Naruto knew. And it was held as gospel that if you were good enough to make it from one side to the other – avoiding the multitude of murderous beasts, plants, and leftover traps from hundreds of shinobi who had trained there in the past that no one had disabled – you were probably good enough to be considered for chunin.

"At least we won't be stuck behind a desk for this one," he muttered, rubbing his temples. His teammates nodded when they heard. None of the three were fond of written tests, and the one they had just come through had been more trying than usual.

"True that," Kiba agreed. "That was fucking annoying."

Ino scoffed. "Says the guy who had his dog get all the answers for him. Dunno how your stupid ass didn't get us all disqualified for that stunt."

"Two points, you dumb blond. Even if they saw Akamaru, they only could'a docked us two points for cheating once." Kiba was all smug satisfaction after having figured out the gaping loophole in the test's rules.

Ino wasn't about to let him stay that way without a fight. "Yeah, yeah, two points. That's two points that I _wasn't_ docked, because I used something more subtle than putting my goddamn dog on my head."

"'Cause possessing Sakura is subtle? I'm surprised the bitch hasn't decked you yet."

"As if she could, idiot, and it doesn't have to be subtle to _her_. Just so long as the examiners didn't catch it," Ino replied with confidence.

Naruto rolled his eyes and sighed. He had little doubt that the examiners had caught Ino red-handed, and that the same "two point rule" had kept her from being immediately disqualified just like it had Kiba. But his head was throbbing – his stupid clones had dispelled all at the same time, the idiots – and he really wanted no part of his teammates' arguments on the best of days.

Absently, he wondered at his own chosen method to pass the first exam. Keeping his clones active throughout the first exam had turned out to be a stroke of genius, if an inadvertent one. And while they had made sure to be well away from the examination room when they dispelled, there was still the possibility that they had been followed or otherwise seen.

And it was as Naruto was lost in thought, only half listening to the crazy proctor describe their next torture, that he heard the whistle of a kunai through the air and felt the telltale signs of someone using Shunshin to appear behind him.

The blade stung as it neatly sliced his cheek, but Naruto disregarded it as he surreptitiously drew one of his knuckle knives in anticipation of what was by far the greater threat. The blond thrust his blade backwards quickly, and withheld a triumphant smirk as it softly pressed into the flesh of his attacker just as he felt the cold metal of a kunai touch his throat.

Naruto started as he felt warm breath on his ear, and only managed to refrain from activating his wind chakra and skewering the person when he recognized the husky voice of the proctor. As it was, he upped the pressure of his knife significantly when she licked his face. _The fuck!_

"Mmm, I do _love_ the way blood feels as it rolls over the tongue," she whispered. "And that means you're not a clone." Naruto stiffened as his deception was revealed. "Thought you got away with that one, did you, runt? Lemme tell you something, kiddo, this is the big leagues, and it's tough guys like you whose blood usually gets spilled all over this forest." The last part was said loudly for the benefit of their audience: the entire assembled group of genin.

The message was received loud and clear, if the outbreak of muttering was any indication. It seemed all the proctors were gifted at making the genin doubt themselves.

Naruto stumbled a step as Anko roughly pushed him off of her. The blond re-holstered his drawn knife and met her eyes. There was a glint in them; it was different from the maddened one that had been there previously, though Naruto couldn't quite put his finger on it. She looked like she was weighing a decision. _Definitely sizing me up for something_. Distantly, the boy wondered if she knew that the Sandaime had all but promoted him already. The old man hadn't been clear as to who knew and who didn't.

His thoughts were shattered as a moment later, in an interesting role reversal, Anko palmed a kunai and brought it to rest on the stomach of a grass genin who had managed to sneak up behind her. _Well there's someone to avoid_, Naruto concluded swiftly. The girl was on the Grass team that Team Ten had identified as mildly dangerous, had breezed through the first exam, and had managed to sneak up on the examiner of all people.

Naruto turned back to his teammates as the tall girl handed the proctor her kunai back with her tongue, deciding that he had had enough craziness for the moment.

"We're avoiding the Grass team," he told Ino and Kiba. Both looked like they wanted to know what the hell had just happened, but Naruto's tone brooked no argument, and neither wanted to draw his annoyance at this point. Both of them knew they were on a short leash after the long bitch fest they had put him through with regards to Yamato.

"Listen up, maggots!" The proctor was talking again, passing out stacks of paper. "Each team gets one scroll, either a heaven or an earth. You have five days to retrieve the scroll that is opposite to yours and get to the tower at the center of the Forest. Only teams with _both_ scrolls will pass this portion."

She stopped at the front of the group, having finished passing out the sheets of paper. Naruto received his as they made their way backwards. It was a waiver.

"Killing is allowed." The statement was met with renewed murmurs among the genin, but Anko didn't miss a beat. "The waivers in your hands need to be signed before you can enter the Forest. If the threat of death is too much for you, you can quit." The last sentence left nothing to the imagination as to what she would think of you if you decided to cut your losses.

"Finally: only a full team can pass. If a member is killed, the whole team fails. If a member is unable to continue otherwise, the whole team fails." A devilish smirk split her face as she surveyed the genin in front of her. "Try not to end up dead, kiddies."

"Now, one representative from each team will come up and receive their assigned scroll."

Naruto locked eyes with Kiba for an instant, and knew they were on the same page.

"Let's go, Akamaru!" the Inuzuka said. The dog-ninja bent down to pick up his puppy, slipping his free hand into a side pouch as he did so.

Ino rolled her eyes as Kiba bounded forward, pushing and shoving his way to the front of the crowd amidst more than a few grumbles from the other genin.

"Idiot's gonna kill us all with that attitude," she mused. Naruto shook his head a bit fondly, and turned to Ino with a slight smile.

"Funny, 'thought the same thing about you when we first started," he said.

It was a testament to how much Ino had grown that she was able to laugh. "People change. And Asuma managed to gimme a pretty solid wake-up call."

Naruto snorted. "Musta been big. You were ready to jump Sasuke's bones back in the Academy."

Ino shrugged. "Guess so. Like I said, people change, and there are other bones I'd rather jump these days." The girl's face was straight as a board as she said it, and she casually buffed her nails on her purple top. A raised eyebrow was tossed Naruto's way, and the boy couldn't help the flush that crept up his neck and across his cheeks.

He was saved from total embarrassment, however, as Kiba reappeared with their scroll and reasserted some form of sanity.

"Got it," he announced, drawing Ino and Naruto from their byplay. "Heaven," the boy whispered.

Both Ino and Naruto nodded, their attention fully on the coming task. "I'll take it for now," Naruto said. "We'll switch holders every hour, but there'll probly be a mad rush at the start." It went unsaid that Naruto was easily the most skilled of the team and thus was the most logical choice to hold on to their metaphorical meal ticket.

Ino and Kiba nodded resolutely, and the three moved to the nearest open gate. A single, nondescript chunin manned it, and he didn't react in the slightest to Team Ten's arrival.

"So how many did you mark?" Naruto asked Kiba the second they were out of hearing range of any and all genin.

"Thirteen definitely," Kiba stated with certainty. "I bumped a few more late, but I'm not sure if I laid enough of my stuff on them."

Naruto nodded and locked eyes with Ino, whose confusion lasted only a few seconds before she put the pieces together.

"Your nose?" she asked for clarification. Both Naruto and Kiba smiled at the girl, though Kiba was as smug as usual.

"You betcha, blondie. Me and Akamaru can find at least half of these fuckers no problem, now," the Inuzuka boasted.

His two blond teammates both rolled their eyes, but refrained from saying anything, electing to let him have his moment. The Inuzuka and their canine familiars were famous for their abilities to act as bloodhounds, if given a scent to follow. Kiba, knowing this, carried around a special concoction that he and Akamaru could recognize and sniff out from miles away. It was colorless, completely odorless to anyone without a nose of similar strength, and was laid on a target with a single touch if done correctly.

"Heh, so we're good to go so long as you didn't manage to bump the half that had entirely heaven scrolls," Naruto joked.

"Got it in one, Naruto."

"Hey! You down there!" the chunin gate guard called. "The exam is about to start." The man made three hand seals and the large lock that held the gate closed undid itself and fell to the forest floor.

The gate opened with a groan, and Team Ten burst forward into the darkness.

/~/

**AN: Bit short, but I felt it was better to leave off here where the chapter could conceivably close, rather than drag it out. Big thanks to all the DLP crew as usual, you know who you are, and to Hashasheen and Datakim specifically for beta work.**

**I'm so pro...**


	15. Chapter 14: Into the Storm

/~/

The familiar sights and sounds greeted the man as he strode through his home. It was remarkable, he mused, how little managed to change in between his trips. While the outside world was constantly changing, the ever-shifting political climate creating havoc, Konoha stayed the same; the only difference was the people in it.

There was a sense of timelessness to the village of his birth, and it gave the impression that no matter what, Konoha would always endure. _Heh, I've been called timeless too_, the man mused happily. It was always nice when people inadvertently played to his ego.

The knowledge of why he had returned tempered his good spirits, and he felt slight frown fix itself on his grizzled face. Aged eyes locked on the Administrative Building, and his large form, already hidden from view to all but the most skilled of observers, disappeared completely.

An open window greeted him at his destination and, despite his recently-turned mood, he smiled.

The two occupants of the room shifted their gazes the second he appeared, and it was a testament to the man's immense skill that the ever unflappable Nara Shikaku looked surprised at his entry.

Sarutobi remained unfazed, however.

"Jiraiya," the Sandaime greeted. The old man's expression didn't change a whit, as if he was as unsurprised by his student's return as he was when the sun rose in the east every morning. He turned back to Shikaku. "If you will, Shikaku, drop the drafted plans with the ANBU Commander. You, he, and myself will be meeting tomorrow morning at seven to discuss them."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," said the Nara clan head. The man rolled up a scroll that had been in between himself and the Hokage and departed.

"On the warpath, eh Sensei?" Jiraiya asked rhetorically.

"Once again, it seems," Sarutobi sighed. "You're earlier than I expected."

"My business wrapped up quickly," was the cryptic answer. The Sandaime didn't bother asking. He would undoubtedly receive the streamlined facts when Jiraiya deemed it necessary. Part of being Hokage was delegating duties, and Sarutobi had faith in his student's abilities and judgment after all the years the man had been doing his job.

"Not that I mind, but what brings you here?" The old man filled and lit his pipe with a contented sigh, taking a long drag.

"Looks like you were expecting me," Jiraiya said, gesturing to the open window. "Can't pay a visit to my dear old sensei?" he asked innocently.

Sarutobi rolled his eyes, though the smallest of smiles broke through his mask. Jiraiya inwardly cheered. "The sky is clear, the air is warm, and the hot springs are open. You never come straight to me unless you have something you want to talk about, Jiraiya, so out with it."

The large man sighed almost playfully, but recognized when his sensei wasn't in the mood for banter. He wasn't really in the mood for banter either. "Reports from Rice Country reached me through the grapevine…" he began, tone hard.

Sarutobi exhaled hard, bringing his free hand to his forehead. It was always the same with Jiraiya. When he wasn't barking him up a tree about Orochimaru and how to handle him, he was constantly badgering him about training his godson. In this case, the situation in question involved both.

"He was caught in an unpredictable situation-"

"In a country where you know that Orochimaru is acting openly!" Jiraiya glared at his sensei. "Goddamn it, old man, he fucking fought him!"

"Where I_ now_ know that Orochimaru is acting openly," the Hokage corrected. "There was little evidence beyond pure speculation that he had anything to do with Otogakure and its formation."

"You still shouldn't have sent-"

"One of my most trusted captains and jonin into possible enemy territory to retrieve information that has become _vital_ to this village's defense?" the old man interrupted. "That Naruto happened to be on Tenzo's genin squad was merely an unfortunate happenstance, Jiraiya." He raised a hand to forestall the Sannin's next outburst. "And before you begin anew, two jonin or even an ANBU squad do not go as unnoticed through the land as we would like to think. The genin provided a shield of uncertainty to any prying eyes."

Jiraiya's eyes flashed. "For all the good it did!"

"And how was I, or anyone to predict that Orochimaru would decide to liquidate the Fuma clan? And by personally leading the assault?" Sarutobi shook his head. "You are not new to this business, Jiraiya, and yet your judgments and feelings are so clouded by affection for a boy you hardly know."

_Only because you've never let me know him_, Jiraiya ached to scream. He refrained, however, having no wish to rehash the decade old argument.

"Not the point, sensei. He got the bastard's attention with the stunt he pulled to get his team out of there, and you and I both know that Orochimaru's at his most dangerous to someone like Naruto when he's curious." Jiraiya had his arms folded over his chest and a glare firmly fixed on his face as he leaned against the nearest wall.

"The odds of the two meeting in the exams are minimal at best, given what my advisors and I have planned. Your presence here greatly helps with that." The Hokage took a long drag from his newly lit pipe. "And should they, I expect that Naruto's abilities will keep our old friend close. He always did have an eye for talent…"

Red flashed in front of the Toad Sannin's eyes. "And now he's _bait_? He's a human being, sensei!"

The sound of teeth clamping around the wood of Sarutobi's pipe let Jiraiya know that he had finally pushed his sensei past his breaking point. "I am happy, now, that you refused my plea to take my place as Hokage all those years ago, Jiraiya, for I am terrified at the prospect of Konoha's future were you leading it," the old man bit out. "Despite all of your experience, you still allow your decisions to be clouded, and cannot make them objectively. _Yes_, Naruto is a human being, rather than simply pawn on a chessboard as you seem to suggest I view him as. He is, however, one of my shinobi, and as such has a part to play in this village's survival. If that means that he draws Orochimaru's attention and keeps him interested enough to ignore any signs of our knowledge of his plot, then so be it!"

Jiraiya leaned back subconsciously at the harsh rebuke, reminded once more that this was the man who had led Konoha to the top of the Shinobi World through two and a half wars.

"Orochimaru's greatest weakness has always been his curiosity in the face of an intriguing 'specimen'," Sarutobi continued, though he was far less heated. "Any advantage is to be exploited here, and I intend to do so."

The large man sighed heavily, letting the argument fall. He knew there was no convincing his sensei once he had set his mind to a course of action. It didn't mean he had to like it. "And how do I factor into these war games of yours?" the Sannin asked wearily, though he already had an idea.

Sarutobi leaned back, taking a drag and finally happy that the Naruto topic had been pushed aside for the moment. "Both I and my advisors believe that Orochimaru will execute his plan during the final phase of the exams, with the aid of Sunagakure and their jinchurriki."

Jiraiya nodded. His own informants had been crucial in unveiling the plot. "So which of the two am I going to have to fight? The father or the son?" he asked. There was never any doubt that Orochimaru would seek out and attempt to assassinate the Hokage. It was only a matter of when and how.

"I would have you fight both, were it conceivably possible," Sarutobi admitted. "But alas, the odds of both the Kazekage and his son being in the same vicinity are slim to none. I expect that my counterpart will be leading his own troops, whilst young Gaara will be used to sow confusion. The Kazekage will be your target."

"Masa's grown some since he was given the seat, I suppose. Could be fun," Jiraiya declared with a smile that wasn't entirely forced. Sarutobi allowed himself a moment of humor at the amount of confidence his student could show when he was tasked with killing a sitting Kage. It went unsaid that the sensei had just as much faith as the student that he would succeed.

Despite Jiraiya's failings as an objective leader, he was unquestionably powerful.

"And the Ichibi?" the Sannin asked.

The Sandaime sighed once more – a growing habit – at what was going to become a point of much contention. "Containment is all but impossible without either myself or you dealing with the beast, but thankfully Sabaku no Gaara is still far from the most capable of jinchurriki."

The Sannin waited patiently, having gotten used to his sensei being long-winded decades ago. _Get on with it already_, he pleaded.

"He'll be matched up against the most capable Konoha genin when he reaches the finals-"

"You mean Naruto," Jiraiya interrupted hastily. He felt the stirrings of his anger once more.

"There's a possibility that either Hyuuga Neji or Uchiha Sasuke will prove themselves in the second exam."

"Right, right, and all the big five are gonna end up as allies in a war. Sensei, don't bullshit a bullshitter!" Jiraiya exclaimed. "Me and you both know that Naruto's gonna be the one to fight the Ichibi container, so cut the crap."

The big man sighed as he finally dropped into a chair across from the Hokage's desk. "Indeed he is, Jiraiya," Sarutobi placated. "But he will not be alone. You may not recall, but one of Orochimaru's old experiments with the Shodai's chakra yielded one positive result."

"The ANBU captain. Tenzo," the Sannin confirmed quickly. "With his Mokuton he should be able to handle the container on his own…"

"His suppression skills have yet to be tested," the Hokage said simply. "He has shown remarkable control over the Shodai's ninjutsu considering he was not born with the talent, prodigious skill really, but we've never had the opportunity to test what was the most potent of my sensei's abilities. Subduing Sabaku no Gaara will be his task and his alone, but to have a jinchuriki of our own to support him only makes sense. The match up will allow for Naruto to be close at hand in the opening stages should Tenzo fail."

Jiraiya made a face at the term for his godson, but smothered his displeasure. "So I take it this is why I was recalled?"

Sarutobi nodded solemnly. "Indeed. He'll need training, for even as competent as Naruto is, I don't wish to leave him at the mercy of Gaara's madness should something prevent Tenzo from acting."

The Sannin shook his head. "And you can't think of anything better than matching Naruto up with an unstable container? Surely there's another option…"

Jiraiya flinched as Sarutobi's arms were thrown skyward. "And what would you have me do instead? My jonin all need to be in strategic locations to help command the chunin when the battle begins; ANBU will be stretched thin with their own assignments, and all of this is to be kept absolutely secret for us to have any _hope_ of survival."

The Sandaime stood abruptly and strode to his window that overlooked the village.

"There are no _good_ options Jiraiya. There is no great upside to any possible scenario involving the Ichibi that doesn't leave the village unacceptably vulnerable in some other way."

"There's always assassination," Jiraiya murmured without feeling.

"You know as well as I that it's not plausible. Any attack on the container would be considered an act that would potentially drag us into a Fourth Great War," Sarutobi sighed. "The same holds true for an attack on the Kazekage, and the possibility of both finding and eliminating Orochimaru before the battle is nonexistent."

The Sannin shook his head. "He's really outdone himself on this one, hasn't he?"

Sarutobi said nothing in response.

/~/

Naruto was starting to think that he'd jinxed the team. His foot lashed out, crushing the useless Heaven scroll into dust with chakra. _Third fucking time_, he mentally groused.

"You guys done?" he called.

"Just finished," came Kiba's reply. The two remaining Team Ten genin appeared from behind a tree, where they had been securing the three hapless wannabes they had just robbed.

Naruto strode over to check their handiwork. All three were bound against separate tree trunks so tightly that not even the greatest of escape jutsu would help them. The blond boy patted the cheek of one of the unconscious genin, and nodded in satisfaction when the boy's head simply rolled from one side to the other. They were out cold, and would remain so for some time.

"They'll be sitting ducks," Ino said hesitantly. Naruto shook his head in response.

"So were the last two teams. We've left them hidden, and it's not like any of them have something to offer anyone else at this point," the boy pointed out. Team Ten had taken the first Heaven scroll for insurance, and had destroyed the scrolls of the second two teams they had found. _The fewer competitors the better._

"Let's roll out. Kiba?"

"Yeah, yeah, Naruto. We've got it." The dog-ninja and his partner both flared their nostrils. Their eyes closed subconsciously, and their heads turned seemingly of their own volition before coming to rest facing due east.

"Got one. Straight east, one and a half klicks away," Kiba said quietly. It was always startling to watch the usually loud mouthed boy focus himself so intently, but Naruto was beginning to get used to it.

The blond, unofficial team leader formed a cross shaped hand seal, and three Kage Bunshin formed in front of him. The blondes, clad in the same black pants, shirt, and vest of Naruto himself, disappeared without a word, moving to scout the team that Kiba had identified.

"Let's roll," Naruto ordered, and the three took off through the tree branches at a run. Kiba and Akamaru led, with Naruto and Ino bringing up the rear in a triangle formation.

The trees flashed by them as the three genin hopped from branch to branch without a word. Suddenly, Naruto's eyes narrowed as the memory from one of his clones presented itself.

"Three Amegakure genin. My clones were discovered and engaged them. Kiba, switch out," Naruto commanded.

The Inuzuka and Akamaru fell back as Naruto leapfrogged them to take point in the formation. The second of his clones dispelled, filling Naruto's head with images of senbon needles and oil spread around a ground level clearing. _They managed to kill one. They're dangerous…_

"Kiba, Ino, fall out of formation and come around from the north and south," ordered Naruto. "Targets are in a clearing half a klick away. I'll blitz from here. Wait a three count before you enter, and give'em all you've got."

The blond spared his teammates a backwards glance and received a nod from both, before he burst forward in an explosive Shunshin.

The surrounding branches and leaves blurred to brown and green just as Naruto's final clone dispelled to give him cover. The speed jutsu was as "loud" as could be chakra-wise, but the trio of Ame genin were both off balance and had no time to react as Naruto charged into their midst like the maelstrom he was named for.

There were no words spoken as the jinchuriki quite simply snatched one of the three by the back of his neck, and ran him bodily into a tree trunk. Blood spattered as the boy's nose was crushed and his face was hacked apart by the unmoving bark. The blond let him drop without a word, watching dispassionately as the unconscious genin fell to the forest floor without a word.

Naruto turned to face the remaining team, making a cross shaped seal as he did. His face was blank, and the Ame genin had no warning as two clones swept their legs from behind. His blue eyes barely had the time to register the unadulterated shock in the two boys' eyes before Kiba ruthlessly pounded one into the ground with his Tsuuga, and the other dropped to the forest floor with a muted scream as Ino sliced his Achilles tendons.

A grim smile crossed Naruto's face at the sight of his teammates' effectiveness, and couldn't help the slight swirl of satisfaction that settled in his stomach at his plan coming together perfectly. It was tempered by the sight of Kiba's target broken and bleeding, unable to make a sound because his rebreather had been shoved back into his jaw at impact. Blood leaked from where the metal had roughly cut into the boy's flesh, dripping into the dirt.

Ino had hauled her target to his feet and propped him against a branch, a line of blood trickling from his forehead where the Yamanaka had brained him with the blunt end of a kunai. The girl patted him down quickly, searching clothing and equipment pouches for any sign of Team Ten's quarry.

"I got nothin'," she stated quietly as she turned to Naruto and Kiba. Her eyes were shadowed, the usual sea-foam color reduced to a muted grey in frustration.

"Same," said Kiba, who had just finished searching his own target. The Ame genin was clearly unconscious, but bleeding profusely from numerous wounds the dog-ninja had inflicted.

That left Naruto, and the blond turned to check his target.

"Got it," he declared with a slight smile, satisfaction coloring his voice. _'Bout damn time!_

The blond pumped his fist once in elation, plans already forming about how to get his team to the tower before nightfall. _Still the first day, might be a fuckin' record_.

"Naruto," Ino called, her voice troubled. The sound of his name broke the boy's inward cheering, and he turned to see his teammates huddled around the fallen form of the boy Kiba had wrecked.

"What's up?" Naruto trotted over, eyes peeled for any and all incoming hostiles. Only the rustling of the trees greeted his keen blue gaze.

Ino shook her head as he approached. "This one's bad," she said quietly gesturing to the fallen Ame genin. She didn't need to tell Naruto for him to know. The boy was sprawled, both arms pointing where they shouldn't have been, and his left leg at a near ninety degree angle. "He's bleeding internally, like, a shit ton…" she trailed off helplessly, gesturing wildly at the unconscious genin.

"How's his heartbeat?" Naruto asked quickly. He shot a quick glance at Kiba, only to find the boy staring resolutely at what had been his target. His face was hard, but his eyes betrayed him. _He didn't mean to do this_, Naruto realized instantly. The Inuzuka techniques were famous for their destructive power, and this was often the result.

A body, broken and bleeding. More often than not it was unintentional on the part of the user.

"Slow," was all Ino said. Naruto felt a cold swooping sweep through him.

"You got any medical experience?" the blond boy asked his teammates at large. He already knew the answer.

"Just CPR," was the simultaneous response.

He nodded. "Alright, you two go tie up the other two. I'll see what I can do for him." He glanced meaningfully at Ino, who nodded once, subdued.

His fellow blond rose purposefully. "C'mon, Kiba," she said, lightly grasping the dog-ninja by the arm and steering him towards the other two unconscious Ame genin. Akamaru followed dutifully at their heels, a chorus of yips that were undoubtedly meant to cheer his partner up echoing through the clearing.

Naruto shook his head silently, surveying the damage Kiba had done to the boy. _Goddamn…_ He remembered his own pain at the hands of his feral teammate back in Wave Country, and was inwardly thankful that he hadn't been nearly as damaged. He had faith in the Kyuubi's ability to heal him, but he would have been debilitated nonetheless.

The cold feeling had only intensified as his eyes raked over the form of the downed genin, even though he had already been set on his course of action. There was nothing he could do. He had just as much medical training as Kiba and Ino.

Naruto's right hand slipped into the unconscious Ame genin's weapons pouch and withdrew a single senbon. With a sigh, the blond gripped it tightly and drove it into the boy's chest cavity, right through the heart.

The blond genin formed two clones with a quick hand seal, and they picked the dead wannabe chunin up from both ends. Naruto approached his teammates from behind. Kiba's sharp ears picked up his footsteps first.

"Done, then?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah." The two clones set the body down next to the two still live examinees, who were propped against a tree trunk.

"Fuckin' A," the dog-ninja muttered through clenched teeth. Naruto gripped him by the shoulder.

"Nothing you could'a done, Kiba." The blond pulled his teammate to his feet, exchanging a nod with Ino. His fellow blond put the finishing touches on the knots tying remaining genin together, before rising and joining them.

The Inuzuka nodded. "I know, man. But it's just…_fuck_…"

Naruto spared him a sympathetic look. "I know how you feel, Kiba, but there's nothing we can do about it now. Just gotta keep moving to the tower."

"I got it, Naruto." Kiba's eyes hardened. "Let's roll out, yeah?"

"Yeah. Let's move," Naruto ordered quietly. The trio turned northeast, and bounded forward into the tree line.

/~/

The Central Tower in Training Ground Forty-Four was old; very old in fact. It had been erected by the Shodai to serve as an outpost for high ranking officials in the midst of First Great Shinobi War, and a command post should Konoha ever be overrun due to an invasion. The Training Ground's ten kilometer radius provided ample cover, and the topmost of the five levels was equipped with all the tools the Hokage might need to govern Konoha and its ninja in exile, should the unthinkable happen. Tunnels that stretched from under the Hokage Monument and the Administrative Building served as a Hokage's route to safety.

Somewhat ironically, due to Konoha's longstanding position at the top of the Shinobi World's pecking order, the tower's facilities had deteriorated from disuse. Wood that had once stood stronger than iron was supplemented by steel bars that jutted out at odd angles on the lower levels. Firm cables ran the length of the hallways, both on the ceiling and the floor, supporting and keeping the tower's shape where the steel supports would have made it buckle under their weight.

As ugly as the tower might have been compared to its former glory, Naruto had to admit that the haphazard repairs translated into a plethora of hiding places and vantage points. The gap between the cabling, beams, and the original wood was often large enough for Naruto to squat comfortably; and while the gaps sometimes were too small for that, he only needed them for a few seconds at most. He could tolerate slight discomfort if it yielded results.

That, however, was the sticking point, and Naruto made no assumptions about whether or not he would succeed.

The blond stifled a grunt of exertion as he leveraged himself into a nook on the right side of the hallway that almost completely concealed his body from the rest of the hallway. The blonde's left arm shook with exertion, pressed as it was against a jutting steel beam, to push his body flush with the wall. Naruto relied on physical strength alone, compressed as his chakra was to avoid detection.

He gritted his teeth as his right arm snaked out and parted a grouping of support cables and electrical wires that hid his body from sight. _Gotcha_, he cheered triumphantly.

The sight of Yakushi Kabuto silently padding down the third floor hallway greeted him from between the wiring.

The silver haired genin's team had arrived earlier that day – the fifth day – alongside Team Seven. After a brief encounter with a surly Sasuke that had left Naruto even more curious than he had been before, the blond had been in full blown stealth-mode, searching for any opportunity to gather information on the mysterious youth.

It had come, and Naruto thanked Yamato and the Sandaime even more for their decision to teach him the Kage Bunshin. It truly was invaluable. With it and a few other techniques he had been working on, his stealth was at an all time high, and was only growing better.

He let himself fall to the hallway floor as Kabuto rounded a corner, a slight inflection of chakra making it silent. Acting quickly, he formed the tiger seal, and steadily _pushed_ his chakra to his skin level. The disturbing sensation of eggs being broken all over his skin made him shudder, and Naruto let loose his breath as he felt the life force settle.

He raised his right arm to eye level, noting with satisfaction that it looked all but invisible. A scowl crossed his unseen face at the slight rippling it gave off as he moved – his chakra's manipulation of the light hitting him was still in need of work. _And it takes all my concentration just to get to this…_

As potentially advantageous as the Meisaigakure no jutsu was, it was notoriously difficult to perform, requiring pinpoint chakra control to properly manipulate the light that struck the user's body. _There's always something else to work on_, the blond lamented silently as he spared his nonexistent shadow a glance before swiftly making his way to the end of the hallway. _And I'm not even close to managing the scent_…

Naruto peeked around the corner in time to catch a glimpse of his quarry striding through the open entrance to one of the dozen training rooms the tower boasted. A quiver of doubt crept into Naruto's mind at the other genin's destination.

The training rooms, with their openness, weren't exactly prime choices for covert meetings between shady shinobi. Once more, the idea that Kabuto might in fact be an undercover ANBU member entered Naruto's mind. It would fit, given his status as a Leaf-nin and his proclivity towards helping the rookies.

_ANBU or not, _Naruto mused, _It's not like I'll be interfering in a mission if he's just meeting with a superior_.

Resolve renewed, Naruto took a deep breath and poured every ounce of his focus into his Meisaigakure no jutsu. Satisfied with his near-invisibility, he leapt to the ceiling, and walked upside down to the entrance of the training room.

Kabuto had descended the stairs from the balcony to the main floor, and leaned casually against the banister. Naruto grimaced, realizing that he might be in for a long wait before whoever was meeting his quarry decided to show up.

He wasn't disappointed.

Twenty minutes ticked by, by Naruto's count, before a man with silky black hair wearing the garb of a Kusa-nin materialized from the floor. The man's pale skin seemed to absorb more light than it reflected, and a slow smile spread across thin lips as he took in his company.

Kabuto chose that moment to shatter Naruto's world.

"Orochimaru-sama," the silver haired genin greeted.

All of Naruto's thought processes, all his theories on why Kabuto was here, who he worked for, came to a screeching halt at the name of Konoha's infamous Snake Sannin. _What!_

The smile became a grin that was just a smidgen too toothy and yellow eyes widened, revealing slit pupils. Naruto shuddered at the _wrongness_ of the man below him, frozen in place.

"Kabuto-kun," the famous criminal returned, the name of his contact rolling off his tongue. "Were you followed?"

From his vantage point, Naruto had a clear view of half the bespectacled genin's face. Light glinted off the older boy's glasses as he adjusted them, a grin of his own forming that told the blond interloper in no uncertain terms that it was time to _leave_.

"Of course."

_Shit!_ Naruto's brain kicked into high gear as he realized he had been made, and battle tested reflexes fired on all cylinders as he sensed the telltale feeling of a Shunshin.

The blond spun one hundred and eighty degrees in the blink of an eye, and only just managed to duck out of the way of a kunai slash at his neck. Survival instincts kicking in, Naruto powered himself backwards over the railing and the edge of the balcony with a burst of chakra. Idly, the blond noticed his cloaking jutsu had collapsed as he reached for his knuckle knives. Fingers grasped the cool metal firmly just as Naruto landed in a defensive stance, his wind chakra making itself known with explosive force.

The howling element cut deep gouges into the stone tiles, and Naruto bared his teeth in anticipation –

– just as a feather-light touch on his neck froze him in place. The screaming wind cut off abruptly as Naruto's chakra went haywire on itself, sending pins and needles shooting all through the genin's body. An all encompassing numbness followed a split second after, and Naruto realized that he couldn't move a finger.

_What did he _ –?

"Kanashibari no jutsu, Naruto-kun," a voice that was as smooth and sweet as honey whispered into his ear. He would have shivered had he been able. "Or, perhaps more accurately, my own little…_twist_."

An arm was dragged lazily across the blonde's shoulders as the man took measured steps to face his prey. The same grin that showed just a few too many teeth played across his lips in delight.

"I do apologize," Orochimaru began, and his face shifted into picture perfect contriteness. "I would, of course, prefer to have this little _chat_ as equals, with both of us free to move as we please." The Sannin's tongue flopped out lazily as a smirk crossed his thin lips, almost as if his mouth needed to remain closed just to contain it. The pale man drew it across his lips as if he was savoring the moment before he dug into his next meal.

"But I couldn't run the risk of you doing something rash," the man explained patiently, as if to a small child. "We wouldn't want you to say…dispel yourself, now would we?" Orochimaru's grin widened as Naruto's eyes tightened around the paralysis.

"Certainly not," Kabuto drawled dutifully as he drew even with the Snake Sannin. His eyes raked over Naruto's form with a gleam, as if sizing him up for a dissection. "Too resourceful by far," the silver haired youth complimented.

Orochimaru nodded, a throaty chuckle escaping his lips. "Kukuku. Too resourceful by far," he echoed. "And the Kage Bunshin! Such a _wonderful_ ninjutsu, and for one so young to have such a grasp of it…"

Kabuto nodded sagely. "Quite talented. I almost didn't believe it when I found out, but with that little showing in the examination room…"

"Ah, yes! Quite the marvelous performance that was. Poor Dosu had no idea what happened. But then their attack on you was misguided in itself, Kabuto-kun. Simpering little weaklings they are, but so eager to please."

"It was unexpected to be sure. Though I admit, Orochimaru-sama, I had thought you would inform them of my – ah – _allegiance_." The young man turned to face his master, the question written plainly on his face in the form of raised brows.

The Sannin shrugged delicately, waving off his subordinate's concerns with a wave of his hand. "One never can trust genin to perform admirably in an unfamiliar situation. Given the knowledge of your allegiance, as you put it, would have compromised their behavior, I have no doubt. You work with genin every day, do you not, Kabuto-kun? Surely you are aware of the lack of discipline most possess," he lectured.

"Of course, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto demurred. "Though their knowledge would have saved me some small trouble."

The Snake summoner chuckled. Naruto was all but ignored completely. "And yet you acquitted yourself so _beautifully_. Indeed, you managed to insert yourself into Kakashi's team's good graces so _easily_ that even _I_ could scarcely believe it."

"Thank you, Orochimaru-sama."

"And how fares young Sasuke-kun?"

Kabuto's face shifted from careful pride to calculating in less than an instant. "Your juin has taken hold successfully. According to his teammate, he was unconscious for nearly twelve hours and battled a fever. The seal apparently activated when he awoke."

"Kukukuku," Orochimaru laughed. "And so it has taken hold. Is there anything else worthy of report?"

"Only that the use of ninjutsu and chakra in general causes him pain."

The Snake Sannin nodded absently. "A common side effect early in the assimilation process," he observed. "I must say that Sasuke-kun was certainly impressive in our encounter, though perhaps not as much as I would have liked…"

"Orochimaru-sama?"

"Oh he was skilled, to be sure, though he does pale in comparison." The pale man's face tightened in remembrance. "Itachi was _far_ more talented. _Is_ far more talented, and I'm afraid that gap may prove to be truly insurmountable for Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru mused aloud. "Kuku, not that it _truly_ matters, of course."

Naruto's mind was ablaze as the two carried on their conversation. Ignored as he was, he felt the stirrings of pins and needles once more, and dared to hope that the infamous criminal's ninjutsu might be wearing off.

The hope was swiftly obliterated as the legend simply reached out and poked the blond in the nose, and the numb feeling returned.

"Ah, don't think we've forgotten about you, Naruto-kun," the Sannin cooed. "Though we have been so very impolite, haven't we, Kabuto-kun?"

"Quite." The young man adjusted his glasses as he regarded the jinchuriki anew. The calculating look never faded, though a spark of interest shone brightly from behind his spectacles. "It must be insulting for Naruto here, listening to us discuss his friend and not paying any attention to him."

"Indeed it must be. And it _is_ unfortunate, for he is so very interesting in his own right. Why, people start to wonder about such an intriguing genin, don't they?"

"Sneaking around at night, asking questions that can't be answered, learning things that no genin knows," Kabuto said. A smile that would have had Naruto running in fear were he able spread across the older genin's face. "He gets people's _attention_, and then they start to ask questions of their own." The silver haired youth began to circle the paralyzed blond, assessing him from all sides. "Who is the genin who learns chunin and jonin restricted skills? Who is the boy who returns from, not one, but _two_ missions gone awry? And all but unscathed…"

Kabuto completed his full circle and came to stand beside his master, the two of them sporting nearly identical grins of anticipation. "Who…is Uzumaki Naruto?" he finished dramatically.

"Who indeed?" Orochimaru hissed. A snake slithered from his wide sleeve and fell to the ground, where it slowly began its trek up Naruto's leg. The blonde's eyes widened as he felt the sensation from a distance, the numbness dulling the weight of the deadly reptile as it made its way across Naruto's torso and came to rest around his neck. Its tongue flickered out to tickle the boy's ear.

"Why don't we let the boy speak for himself? What do you say, Kabuto-kun?"

"A good idea, Orochimaru-sama."

"Well then…" The Snake Sannin reached out and ever so gently drew the back of his fingers down Naruto's left cheek in a twisted mockery of a caress. Stinging pins and needles spread forth from the pale man's touch as the paralysis was lifted.

Naruto gasped as he was suddenly able to move his mouth and breathe freely. Air that had only entered sparingly through his nose for the past minutes was taken in huge gulps; his eyelids blinked at a furious pace, causing the boy to tear up as the irritation of temporary paralysis was dispelled.

"Wha-what do you want from me?" the blond demon container finally managed to wheeze.

"So to the point," the pale man muttered with a roll of his yellow eyes. "Nothing that you won't be willing to give in time, Naruto-kun. Of that I can assure you. The more pressing question is what do _you_ want from _me_?"

Naruto's brows creased in a harsh glare. "I don't want anything from _you_!" he all but screamed.

"Do lower your voice. No one can hear you, and it is simply impolite," the Sannin chastised. "And you will want something from me, dear boy, for you see, you have a problem; a rather large problem, in fact, in the form of a group of very powerful individuals after the fox sealed inside you."

"Akatsuki," Naruto bit out with vitriol. The blond had the pleasure of seeing genuine surprise cross the infamous criminal's face.

"You've heard of them." It wasn't a question. A grin of amusement crossed the man's face once more, gleaming white teeth showing. "You wouldn't be so kind as to tell me how you came by that name?" At Naruto's stony silence the man chuckled. "Kuku, I thought not, but it is irrelevant. How you came by their name means little, only that you _do_ know their name."

"And how do _you_ know their name?" Naruto asked bitingly, almost despite himself.

"Why we used to work together!" Orochimaru declared like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I had the _privilege_ of being a member of their _illustrious_ organization once upon a time, though we parted on, shall we say, less than amicable terms."

"And here, we come to the root of the issue," the Sannin said.

Naruto held his silence for ten full seconds before the snake around his neck hissed its displeasure in his ear. "And that is?"

"That you, Naruto-kun, are in no way, shape, or form properly trained or equipped to deal with my old comrades." The pale man gave Naruto a pitying look. "You need only look at your situation now for confirmation. You stand before me, helpless. Should I wish to kill you – Kage Bunshin or no – I could, let there be no doubt as to that."

"Now, picture yourself standing alone, against an organization of my near equals…"

The cold feeling of dread that was always lurking at the back of Naruto's consciousness was slowly taking hold. It was the same feeling he had gotten when watching Asuma and Zabuza go toe-to-toe at a level that was utterly beyond the scope of his comprehension. It was the feeling that told him that he was completely outclassed in every way imaginable, and that his life was in the hands of someone else.

"You are immensely talented, Naruto-kun. The potency of your chakra alone speaks of your enormous potential for ninjutsu. Your reserves are massive for one your age. But that talent alone will not suffice against the likes of the Akatsuki," Orochimaru lectured. "You need training. Training to turn that enormous potential into a finely tuned weapon that can destroy your enemies."

"You mean your enemies," Naruto growled.

The grin on the Snake Sannin's face only widened. "Our common enemy, in this case."

The blond stared at the legendary ninja, comprehending what the man was suggesting through the haze of fear and trepidation that enveloped his mind. "And you're suggesting I…I join _you_?" Orochimaru only spread his arms in confirmation. "You're a traitor! A criminal!"

"Kuku. Is that how I am portrayed in the history books?" the man asked, amused at Naruto's outburst.

"You experimented on your comrades! On Konoha ninja and civilians!" Naruto burst out, mind spewing out every scrap of damning information it could to declare why he would never join him.

"A foolish mistake, in retrospect, to be as open as I was," the man conceded. "Though one that I would make time and again, for what it did for me in the end. But that alone is irrelevant. Do you think that if I had not kept my experiments to enemy shinobi and civilians, they would not have been sanctioned, even applauded by your precious Sandaime?" Naruto's eyes widened, denial coursing through his veins. "Oh yes. Your _beloved_village has and will continue to conduct such experiments, Naruto-kun, though they would have you believe otherwise."

"You're still a criminal," Naruto insisted.

Orochimaru rolled his eyes. "Your argument grows weak. Your Yondaime," he spat with a sneer, "Is this village's greatest hero, and yet a villain of the highest caliber in Iwagakure. To be more relevant, a criminal in Konohagakure – myself, in this case – is a savior to hundreds in the Country of Rice Fields, and their Daimyo pays me tribute. The results of my _illegal_ experiments have yielded medical advancements and care for an entire _nation_ of people who your village would see die without a care in the world."

"But I will indulge you in this, Naruto-kun. Indeed, from Konoha's point of view I am a criminal who abandoned them. And in the midst of a war, no less," the pale man said. "Damning, to be sure, but you must ask yourself this: what allegiance does a man – a man who's talent, and genius, and innovation is ignored by the very village he had served faithfully – owe to a village that does not appreciate him? Tell me," Orochimaru ordered.

Naruto was silent.

"None," was the simple answer from the Snake Sannin. "For as much as the shinobi must sacrifice for his village, so too must the village recognize and reward the shinobi for his service; for his efforts to save the village from stagnation and decline. And when that does not happen, the sacred bond between shinobi and village is shattered, and the two must part."

The blond sputtered, searching for an argument, any argument that would shut the man in front of him up. Anything that would stop his words.

Kabuto interjected before so much as a thought had truly crossed his mind. "Naruto", he said patiently. "Tying yourself to Konoha in these coming days is foolish at best and suicidal at worst. Their decline has happened, and the village is coming to an end. And with its fall, so come do the Akatsuki, seeking you as their prize."

"And they will have you," Orochimaru picked up. "No matter what friends you have that will stand at your side, no matter if Konoha's remnants will stand alongside you in battle, you and they will all die. And your existence will come to a short and anonymous end."

"You will, doubtlessly, come to realize this yourself, Naruto-kun. You will realize that this village, for all of its reputation, can neither protect you nor give you the ability to strike down your enemies; nor, even, would they wish to," the Sannin said. "You are their pawn, a weapon forged in the heat of desperation to be used and discarded. Konoha's to ignore for your service, and held up as a scapegoat in times of strife. And those times are coming."

"You need a teacher," Kabuto said reasonably. A small smile that was one part understanding and one part pity played across his lips. "Someone who appreciates all of the immense talent you have and the knowledge and skill to bring it forth. Someone who can both shield you from the Akatsuki while giving you the skills to strike them down!"

"And that's him?" Naruto asked, breaking the boy's impassioned speech. His voice was heavy with trepidation, and no small amount of confusion at the deluge of information that was hitting him straight between the eyes. Kabuto merely shrugged, his smile still in place, as if to say "Who else?"

"You need not accept now, Naruto-kun." The now-familiar grin returned, and yellow eyes alit with the inner mirth that had been present early, but had disappeared as Orochimaru spoke. "I am offering my services, you might say, for when the time comes, and Konoha can no longer protect you. When this village…no longer has any meaning for you."

"And it will come," the Sannin stated with certainty. "A time when the needs of your own survival will far outweigh the ties that bind you here. When that happens, come and find me."

The blond had no time or means to react as the snake that was coiled around his neck struck suddenly, and the searing bite of fangs was the last thing Naruto felt before he knew no more.

/~/

He watched the explosion of smoke with nothing but the smallest glimmer of satisfaction. _And so the great game begins_, he mused. Uzumaki Naruto's loyalty was a prize he was far from winning, but the risk was worth the result it would bring.

The boy's potential was just that high.

Beside him, Kabuto let loose a laugh. "Your boldness knows no bounds, Orochimaru-sama. To reveal both of us like that…is he really worth it?"

The Snake Sannin nearly rolled his eyes at his subordinate. For all the boy's shrewdness and skill, he had much to learn. "Your mission is finished, and I gain nothing by keeping you in Konoha's good graces for a month longer." He had no need to speak of revealing himself. Sarutobi had known of his presence in his village for days now, thanks to Anko.

"You're right, of course," the silver haired youth demurred. "But the question remains…"

The smallest twinge of irritation broke through the Snake Sannin's clinical musings. "Despite your best efforts, Kabuto-kun, Kimimaro is dying; and I'm afraid that the Sound Four are simply not as effective as they were with him at their head. I'm in need of a new lieutenant, and Naruto-kun will be a perfect fit."

"Even without your juin?"

Orochimaru sent the boy a withering look, and was distinctly unsatisfied with the smile Kabuto was sporting. _Insolent whelp_. The youth was pushing his buttons, probing the waters, and testing his patience. And nothing set him off quite like blatant stupidity.

His fingers twitched, itching to form the seals that would summon his Shadow Snakes and end the annoyance standing next to him.

But he refrained. Kabuto was far more useful alive than dead, regardless of the boy's proclivity towards provoking him. His medical skills alone qualified him; the calculating mind and deadly shinobi behind the harmless front he displayed was both a bonus and a great source of the Sannin's vexation.

"Even without the mark, Kabuto-kun. I trust I don't need to explain the nature of a jinchuriki to you." It wasn't a question. And though the older man's tone was just as mild as it had been with the youth all night the undercurrent of promised violence was enough to make Kabuto pause.

But not to stop.

"But to tempt the Akatsuki so…It's an awful risk, Orochimaru-sama." The smile had returned to the boy's face, and it was as sly as a fox. It was the same smile that had been on his face when he had reported that Hanzo had fallen, and Pein and Akatsuki were now in control of an entire Hidden Village.

_Two seals and a bite to the neck is all it would take_, his subconscious whispered. _The poison alone would be enough to override his healing…_ The Sannin crushed the murderous impulse quickly.

The boy took derived far too much amusement from seeing his master wage a silent war with his former comrades. And not for the first time did Orochimaru doubt his young subordinate's loyalty. The silver haired medic had a treacherous streak a mile wide, and regardless of Sasori's loyalty seal being broken, the youth could very well still harbor some allegiance to his old master. He would hate to have to kill him, however. The boy's skills were invaluable, both as a medic and a spy, and their word games were entertaining enough from time to time, despite Kabuto's willingness and even eagerness to aggravate him.

His face was perfectly neutral as he responded, "A risk worth the reward, Kabuto-kun. Akatsuki has not the means to hold a jinchuriki captive for long, and Naruto-kun, thanks to his biju, must be taken last. With time and training, he will be the perfect weapon to serve as my right hand."

"Of course, Orochimaru-sama. If I may take my leave?"

The pale man waved him away with a hand. "The ANBU are already on their way. I will contact you with any further instructions later."

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama." The silver haired boy nodded once before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

The Snake Sannin stood alone in the center of the training room. _A productive evening indeed_, he mused in satisfaction.

"Kuku. What will you do, Naruto-kun?" he asked the empty air. A single hand seal was formed and orange flames consumed the infamous criminal from the ground up before he had disappeared entirely.

The ANBU Platoon, led by the Hokage himself, found nothing upon their entrance three minutes later.

/~/

**AN: Took a bit longer than expected due to a hang up with my betas, but here it is. Solid length, and hopefully an enjoyable read. Credit as always to the DLP crew, you know who you are, and to Hashasheen and ****Datakim specifically for their beta work. This chapter wouldn't be what it is without them, as usual.**

**Working on the next segment, and for all concerned about Hurricane Suite, it is still being worked on and is far from abandoned. Just in a bit of a hang up with some scenes.**

**Until next time...**

**I'm so pro**


	16. Chapter 15: Reload

/~/ 

A rush of light followed by a cool draft ruffled pristine white robes as Sarutobi emerged onto his balcony overlooking the preliminary exam room. Two white cloaked ANBU walked in lockstep to either side of him, while two more stayed behind the balcony curtains. His eyes were forward, and his face set in stone as he walked with purpose towards the center of the balcony, where his chair rested.

"Hokage-sama!" was the ritualistic call of his chunin and jonin from beneath the balcony as he looked them over one by one, granting each a nod in turn. Both Ibiki and Anko were present, as well as the other chunin proctors from the First Exam. The two ranking shinobi were keeping closer to themselves, however, and away from the other shinobi present. Though Sarutobi suspected it was due to Anko's barely restrained anger than anything else. 

_Though it is difficult to blame her_, the old man mused. The information revealed to her of Orochimaru's new attack hadn't been taken well, and coupled with their encounter only days prior in the forest had left the woman in a violent state of mind.

_And to question Naruto's loyalty as she had… she always was better at making enemies than friends. _The blond genin, after having recited his clone's ordeal, hadn't taken kindly to Anko's insinuating that it was the seccond time he and Orochimaru had run into each other, demanding to know what she was implying. Only Sarutobi's presence in the room prevented the spat from turning physical.

_Ah, the fire of youth_, thought the Hokage sardonically as he lowered himself into his seat with a well concealed sigh of satisfaction, echoing the sentiments of one of his more famous jonin. Two ANBU fell to either side of him as he relaxed. The armchair was plush and as comfortable as any in the village, though a clever genjutsu layered the image of a solid stone throne over the top of it. He was far too old to be sitting in such a chair for any extended period of time, and would have balked at it even had he not been sixty-nine.

There was no need to sacrifice comfort when the image of invulnerability and power could so easily be draped over it.

Ageing eyes peered out from under the Hokage's hat, looking over the various jonin instructors present, both foreign and domestic. The jonin were clustered on a separate ledge, where Yuhi Kurenai and Maito Gai made amiable conversation whilst Kakashi and Tenzo – _Yamato_ – looked to be speaking in hushed tones a few meters away.

A pang of regret shot through the old man as he was reminded of his son's absence. Asuma would have been among the Konoha contingent, no doubt eager to watch his three protégés prove their worth. _You were still so young, Asuma-kun…  
_  
Such thoughts fled from his mind as one of his masked ANBU materialized in front of him, a scroll outstretched. "The final matchups, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi took the proffered scroll with a nod, scanning the names quickly as he took in the altered brackets he had ordered.

"Everything appears to be in order," he told the still standing ANBU in front of him. A flex and push of his chakra incinerated the scroll in his hands, the ashes falling like slow rain to the tiled balcony below. "Bring them in," he ordered.

"Yes, Hokage-sama!" The lieutenant disappeared in a Shunshin as Sarutobi leaned back in his chair.

Waiting idly for the genin to be brought forth, the old man scanned the crowd of jonin and chunin who populated the balcony below him. A few notable clan heads had petitioned for their viewing of the preliminary rounds, so as to see their children compete in the event they didn't make it to the true finals. Scattered about were a few nondescript chunin that Sarutobi knew belonged to the Barrier Corps. Having two jinchuriki in one building was a nightmare to just about anyone, and having a few trained professionals on hand to limit any possible damage soothed the nerves.

A light brush on his arm turned his head to the left to regard the ANBU guard who had touched him. The man was concealed behind a bird mask, and made a single seal of battle-speak. –Toad – he said, and the Sandaime concealed his chuckle even as the ANBU to his right stiffened slightly as she put the pieces together.

"So you decided to come after all," Sarutobi muttered. "I had thought you might wait."

"No sense in it," Jiraiya returned. "Not after last night." The Hokage nodded his head in acknowledgement and was silent. He would have to interrogate his student once the matches were completed, to find out how he had so easily gained access to his personal guard.

Even now, after forty years, the man managed to surprise him.

The sound of double wooden doors opening on the ground floor attracted the attention of all present. Eyes swiveled to take in the forms of an even twenty genin striding into the room. Nineteen teams walked in separate lines to stand in front of the Ram Seal Statue, the twentieth team short one member. _Yakushi Kabuto_, Sarutobi remembered with a twinge of bitterness at the spy's successful infiltration. There had been some discussion as to whether to disqualify the boy's remaining teammates and hold them for questioning, but in the end he had decided to let events play out. Whether they were a part of his old student's schemes would be told in time, and the coming fights would be as good an indicator as any as to the threat Akado Yoroi and Tsurugi Misumi might pose.

"Twenty remaining genin," the old man heard his right ANBU guard whisper. "Impressive…" Down below, Anko scowled.

A small smile crossed Sarutobi's lips at the sight of the three full rookie Konoha teams. _Their sensei were right to nominate them_.

His brown eyes fell on the boy who had been occupying his thoughts lately. Naruto stood in between his two teammates, his expression hard. Blue eyes flittered over the assembled shinobi and kunoichi on the balcony above him, before finally coming to rest on the Sandaime's own. The blond boy gave a nod of acknowledgement and deference, which Sarutobi responded to with a slight raising of his head.

Their debrief the previous night had been short, as the Hokage had had matters to attend to, but no less stressful than any of their previous meetings. Orochimaru's offer hadn't been a surprise, truly, but it was worrying all the same.

_Perhaps you were right after all, Jiraiya_…

He smothered his conflicting emotions with practiced ease and rose.

"The Second phase of the Chunin Selection Exams is now complete. Congratulations to all of you who remain," he began, his voice modulated to carry throughout the entire room. "Before we begin the third phase, there is something that you all, as potential chunin, should be aware of. And that is the true nature of this exam."

An uneasy rustling of cloth greeted his words, and Sarutobi was satisfied that he had their attention. "Why is it that many nations come together for this test?" he addressed the genin whilst stepping forward. His hands were clasped behind his back and his face carefully stoic as he continued, "'To promote friendship among the nations,' 'To raise the level of shinobi'…" _Both completely untrue_. "As potential future chunin of your villages, I do not want for you all to be confused as to the true meaning."

"This exam is a substitute for war."

Unsettled muttering broke out at the proclamation, though Sarutobi clearly saw a few of the genin silently piecing together the puzzle before them.

"In the past, these same nations gathered here warred. We fought for power, for land, and above all else for prestige and reputation. This exam is a substitute for the wars that consumed the continent for decades." The old man's hands came forward in a sweeping gesture. "Today it is you who fight for your village in battle."

"But why?" Inuzuka Kiba burst out. He ignored Naruto's shove to shut up. "Why do we have to risk our lives?"

"Because a shinobi's true worth is only seen in life and death situations." The answer was quick, for Sarutobi had expected the question. _They truly should be made aware of the facts before they enter_, the old man thought, and not for the first time. "If the strength of the villages is to be seen, it can only be through true combat, for only then can the skills of shinobi be properly assessed."

A Konoha girl with twin hair buns spoke next. "But then…what about the friendship between the villages?"

Sarutobi almost smiled in spite of himself. "Through life and death there is balance. Through this exam that balance among the villages is achieved. _That_ is the nature of the friendship between villages." _It is a harsh world we live in, children, and I do hate to be the one to reveal it_.

"Before we begin the third phase, for those who have not yet grasped my words, I will tell you this. This exam is not merely a test, but a life risking battle for your village. Your country's and your village's reputation rests on your shoulders…" The Sandaime trailed off, letting his statement hang heavy in the air as the genin digested their own importance.

A single voice shattered the silence. "I don't care what it means," Sabaku no Gaara spoke flatly, his beady eyes trained on the Hokage. "Just get on with it and tell us what this life and death situation is."

As one, the heads of every single Konoha genin swiveled to glare at the offending boy who dared to speak so disrespectfully to their Kage. The red head shrugged them off with complete indifference, electing to keep his bored gaze fixed on the Hokage. On the balcony above, a Suna jonin with cloth covering half of his face pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head.

Sarutobi was unruffled. "Of course," he said dryly, his own eyes locked with the disrespectful jinchuriki's. He regarded the boy with complete indifference, which seemed to put the redhead on edge. _Impudent boy. If only Masa had instilled some discipline in you_. The Sandaime opened his mouth to continue, but was halted as a figure dropped from above in front of him.

A pale man, clad in standard Konoha fare and his hitai-ate worn as a bandana, fell to a knee in front of him. The katana on his back clattered lightly as he raised his head. "If I may Hokage-sama, as the proctor of the Third Exam…" his voice trailed off in a cough.

"By all means." Sarutobi gave the eager Special Jonin a smile as he rose and vaulted the railing. Bags were heavy under the man's eyes, and the Sandaime couldn't help but sigh in regret at the sight of a man whose once promising career was being reduced to almost nothing due to an unfortunate injury. To his right, his ANBU guard shifted, and the old man spared her a glance of sympathy.

"Hello, my name is Gekkou Hayate, and I'm the proctor for the Third Exam," the man greeted the genin formally. A chorus of coughs followed his statement, and it was a full ten seconds before he regained composure enough to continue. "But before the Third Test, we're going to have to have a preliminary round, to narrow the field of applicants…"

Hayate would have continued, if not for an indignant cry from the back of the genin.

"A preliminary round?" Nara Shikamaru burst out. "What do you mean _preliminary_?"

The rookies, who all knew Shikamaru, turned their heads and stared at the pineapple-haired youth in shock. The boy wasn't one to readily speak his mind in most situations, especially not in the face of authority.

Sarutobi only allowed himself the slightest of smiles at the interruption, though Jiraiya looked to be holding back a full blown belly laugh to his left. _So very like his father_, he mused.

"There are too many applicants for the Third Exam to proceed properly." A round of coughs followed, and the genin waited impatiently for the man to continue. "Whether due to easy first and second exams, or due to the field being…exceptional, there are too many of you left for the fights to be held in public. Due to Chunin Selection Exam rules, we must have a preliminary round to…reduce the number of participants."

Silence greeted Hayate's words, the genin digesting the fact that they would be forced to endure yet another round before making it to the finals. They would have to prevail here to have a _hope_ of being promoted.

"This round begins now, so any genin who feel that they might not be up to it, please raise your hands and you will be disqualified," the examiner said.

The nervous muttering was renewed with vigor, but no hands were raised. Sarutobi, from his vantage point, gave a small, unseen nod of satisfaction.

"Well…no takers then," Hayate quipped. "If, then, you'll all pay attention to the board…" The sickly man raised a hand and pointed to a screen above the Ram Seal Statue, where names began to flash randomly in green letters.

It settled on two just as Sarutobi retook his seat. He ignored the weight of Jiraiya's questioning gaze as he regarded the soon to be battle ground stoically.

"The first match will be Kinuta Dosu versus Uzumaki Naruto," Hayate announced. Sarutobi watched with appraising eyes as the two genin immediately gave the other a once over as their counterparts slowly dispersed and walked up the steps to their balcony.

Yamanaka Ino remained, however, having caught Naruto by his arm before he could move to the center of the arena. She whispered something in his ear that the blond boy nodded at, before hurrying up the stairs herself.

"I was hoping I would fight you in the real finals, after Sasuke-kun of course," Dosu said, his voice calm and even contrite. "I feel I should repay you for that trick you pulled on me in the First Exam room. I feel like I might be being taken a bit too lightly."

Naruto didn't respond as he checked the bandages wrapping his ankles. Deeming them good enough, he patted his weapons pouches and kunai holsters down, before drawing his twin knuckle knives and squaring himself up.

Despite the pang of loss that resonated through his chest at the sight of his dead son's weapons, the Sandaime couldn't help but smile at the sight the boy before him.

"Nothing to say to me?" the heavily bandaged boy asked. His face, covered as it was, wasn't visible, but the single eye narrowed in irritation.

"What's to say?" Naruto asked. His voice was bland, his expression indifferent, but his eyes blazed with an emotion Sarutobi couldn't place at first glance.

The bandaged boy was silent for a moment, before he turned the examiner. "Proctor-san, I assume that killing is still permitted?"

The arena, which had been filled with a hum of anticipation from not just the genin but the assembled ranking shinobi as well, fell completely silent. The Sandaime felt he might have been able to hear a pin drop.

"Um, it is, yes," Hayate confirmed. "But the match will end if and when I deem it–"

"That's all I needed to know, Proctor-san," Dosu interrupted.

Hayate let the silence hang for a few seconds as the two boys surveyed each other at five meters apart. "Well, if there's nothing else…begin!"

The examiner's arm dropped to signal the start of the fight, and Naruto didn't waste a second before the sound in the arena was deafening. Wind chakra burst from the knuckle knives into visible, twenty foot whips of pure destructive power as the blonde's lips peeled back in a snarl. The genin brought the whips up and crashing down in the shape of an X.

Wind howled its fury as tile was torn asunder and dirt was thrown skyward as Dosu dove to his right to avoid being cleaved into pieces. He rolled to stop his momentum, and was immediately set upon by Naruto. The bandaged boy took an elbow to the solar plexus that sent him hurtling backwards, but he righted himself quickly.

The Oto genin landed softly a few meters from the blond, who broke into a sprint. His eye widening, Dosu palmed and hurled a kunai at the oncoming Naruto, hoping to slow him down.

The jinchuriki acted quickly, bringing his left knife to bear. The whip shortened to a blade that bisected the kunai and hurled the halves away harmlessly as Naruto didn't bother to break stride.

The blond entered the Oto genin's space like a hurricane, swinging his right blade down just as Dosu brought his Melody Arm up in a desperate block. The weapon, designed to amplify sound waves with chakra, didn't even have a chance to be activated as Naruto cleaved it in two with a downward slash that took the bandaged boy's right hand off at the forearm.

Dosu had no time to process the loss of his right hand; he had no time to scream in pain; he had no time to blink. Naruto stepped, planted his right foot inside his guard and stopped his momentum dead by pulling his body into a tight spin with his left arm outstretched. Wind screamed its fury for all to hear as Naruto's left blade sliced through the Oto genin's neck like a hot knife through butter, and the blond came to rest with his arms outstretched in opposite directions.

Its eye still open wide in shock, the severed head of Kinuta Dosu dropped to the arena floor with a sickeningly wet thump. The rest of the body joined it a moment later, falling forward in a spray of arterial blood that peppered Naruto's face and torso with bright red drops.

The Konoha genin dropped his gaze to the two parts of the genin he had just killed, his blue eyes widening ever-so-slightly at the sight. There was an element of surprise hidden in their depths, as if the boy was stunned that he had actually killed his opponent. They remained there for a full five seconds of absolute silence that held the arena and its spectators in a vice grip.

Finally, he blinked and shook his head as if to clear it of cobwebs, and stepped away from the two parts of what had once been a genin of Otogakure.

"Winner: Uzumaki Naruto," Hayate declared pointlessly. It was all the invitation the crowd needed for the dam to break, and hushed murmurings filled the air. The ranking shinobi turned amongst themselves, conversations breaking out immediately. The genin opposite them, however, were as silent as death.

"Tch, the gaki's not bad," Jiraiya muttered to Sarutobi's left.

"Are you satisfied?" the Sandaime asked.

"Not by half, old man, but I'll see what I can do with him." The voice was carefully neutral, but Sarutobi couldn't help but detect the undercurrent of excitement at the prospect of teaching the boy.

The Sandaime's eyes were fixed on Naruto, however, who simply wiped his knives down with a cloth in a practiced ritual he had no doubt learned from Asuma. The blond sheathed them at his hips with a spin around his fingers and a flourish, before turning slightly to face the gathered, ranking shinobi.

Blue eyes locked with ageing brown and Naruto lowered his head in deference to the Sandaime before turning abruptly, and making his way up the stairs to his teammates.

Amid the excited murmurings of his shinobi and kunoichi, the silence of the assembled genin, and the sound of footsteps announcing the arrival of the cleanup crew, Sarutobi smiled.

/~/

For what was the first time in the two months since Yamato had become his sensei, Naruto was legitimately annoyed with the man. It was bound to happen at some point, but it could have been at a much better time, in the blond genin's esteemed opinion.

Some small, distant, and far more rational part of his brain reasoned that with both Kiba and Ino in the finals right along with him, their sensei should certainly be paying attention to them as well. _But this is some goddamn bullshit_, he thought with vitriol. Being handed a compilation of chakra control exercises and being told to work on them wasn't his idea of training.

Especially not with a murderous Suna-genin as his future opponent.

Sabaku no Gaara was easily the most ridiculous genin Naruto had ever met. He had heard of the boy's instability from Sasuke, who had apparently had a run in with him before the Exams had even started, and had seen it first hand in the boy's fight against Lee in the Preliminaries. Only Gai had been able to stop the insane genin from killing Lee even after the fight had been called.

Chakra control exercise wouldn't help him against a monster that had been able to recover from Lee's opening of five Celestial Gates. Nothing save Asuma's trench knives would even put a dent in the boy's Sand Armor, and there was little guarantee that he could even get close enough to use them properly. He was quick, but Lee had always been a few cuts above him in terms of speed, and that kind of movement and agility couldn't be gained in a month.

_And that means taijutsu is gonna be useless too_, the blond mused unhappily from his position under a waterfall. The white noise did nothing to comfort his nerves as he reflected on his situation. Ninjutsu was Naruto's only answer to Gaara's inhuman defense, and nothing the blond knew was good enough by half.

The Fuuton: Renkudan was the most offensively powerful jutsu he knew, and just from seeing Gaara absorb Lee's Goken, Naruto knew that it wouldn't be nearly enough.

_I could make it sharper. Harder, faster, stronger…but it still won't be enough. That sand's too tough and too quick on its own._

The blond flinched as he felt a light mist start to brush against his nose, and gritted his teeth in frustration. His anger didn't help his plight, however, and drops of water on his forehead heralded an explosion of chakra that sent half the water in the small lake hurtling outwards in a wave. At its center stood Naruto, the cascading waterfall behind him ending in a mist that swirled around the genin violently as he seethed.

A single, heavy sigh escaped his lips as his hands fell limply to his sides. "God_damn_ it," Naruto hissed, his eyes fluttering closed so as to not take in the sight of his anger. His temper had been one his most defining characteristics as a child – followed by his impatience – and, despite his strides toward levelheadedness and self-control, it could easily get the best of him from time to time.

The blond shook his head in an attempt to compose himself. _Maybe I should take a break_, he thought. Some lunch and a breather might do wonders for his focus, and it wasn't as if he could get any real training done in his current frame of mind.

Resolved, Naruto's hands formed a familiar cross shaped seal, and four clones popped into existence. "Corners, work your way in," the original commanded tiredly, gesturing to the edges of the training ground. His explosive temper had created quite a mess, and he had no want for an official reprimand for leaving a training ground in complete disarray.

Sparing the doppelgangers a glance to make sure they weren't about to slack off – he sometimes found that his clones had a mind of their own when handling more mundane tasks – the original stepped into Shunshin. He reappeared at the edge of the path that lead to his preferred training ground of the day, the speed jutsu's end coinciding flawlessly with his first step towards the village proper. Normally the execution of such a "cool" maneuver would bring a smirk to Naruto's face, but the blond was in no mood for self-indulgence.

His steps carried him through the throng of lunch time walkers untouched as he reached the downtown. A vendor at the edge of the path locked eyes with the blond for an instant, and Naruto felt the weight of disdain and outright hatred settle onto his shoulders. Blinking, blue eyes stared forward resolutely, passing over the bodies and faces of the midday crowd without truly taking them in. He knew what would greet him if he bothered to focus on the dozens of faces passing him by.

Ever since Asuma's funeral, it seemed as if the general populace had reverted to their old views of him from before he had stopped his almost daily pranks. Where indifference and even a smattering of respect had met him for the past four years, hostility and glares greeted him nowadays.

He was shunned, just as he had once been, for the unforgiveable crime of surviving where one of Konoha's great jonin had fallen.

"Fuck you all," he breathed, his voice barely audible even to himself.

"_You are their pawn, a weapon forged in the heat of desperation to be used and discarded. Konoha's to ignore for your service, and held up as a scapegoat in times of strife…"_

"_I am offering my services, you might say, for when the time comes, and Konoha can no longer protect you. When this village…no longer has any meaning for you."_

The Snake Sannin's words came to him unbidden, and Naruto very nearly flinched as they struck home. _Get outta my head!_ he silently commanded, but the message had been struck home days before and, try as he might, it wouldn't leave him alone. It had been easy to ignore back in the tower, surrounded by fellow competitors and knowing that the Sandaime was never more than a hallway or two away. He had let the competition dominate his every thought, and Orochimaru's promises had been relegated to the backburner of his mind.

Now, however, surrounded by glares and hostility on all sides, the whispers rang loud and clear.

The blond felt the grinding of his teeth ought to have been audible to every person he passed as he strode through the downtown. His eyes were narrowed, his face set in stone, and his temper palpable as he flung back the curtains that served as the entrance to Ichiraku Ramen. It was crowded, as the genin had known it would be, but he found that he couldn't care less as his nostrils were assaulted by the sweet aroma of fresh noodles and broth.

Naruto elbowed and shoved his way to the front of the counter, claiming a seat just as a woman vacated it.

"You kiddin' me, brat?" a man practically yelled incredulously. "I been waitin' for that spot for five minutes now! Get yer ass up!"

The blond – who likely would've acquiesced on a better day – was in no mood for some civilian's rhetoric. A glare that would have set trained shinobi on edge from its sheer vitriol met the man's incredulity head on, and the civilian staggered back a step. Realizing who he was dealing with, and recognizing the poison in the boy's expression, the man cut his losses hastily and moved to another section of the counter to wait for a spot to open up.

Sneering in disgust, Naruto turned his eyes to Ayame, who was working the counter, only to be met with cool indifference and a slight nod. Kanji were scribbled onto an order slip without a word, and less than thirty seconds later, a steaming bowl of miso ramen was in front of the genin and being devoured with relish.

It was gone in under two minutes, only to be replaced almost immediately. Despite his mood, Naruto nearly smiled. After years of dealing with him and his temper, the Ichirakus had developed a simple system. Miso ramen was always the answer to a moody Naruto, and they would keep pumping it out until the blond was ready to calm down or talk.

"Something got your panties in a twist, kiddo?" a deep voice asked from right next to him.

_Idiot civilians who need to mind their own goddamn business_, Naruto thought. He bit back the retort on the tip of his tongue, knowing that it would get him nowhere.

"Lots of 'somethings'," he muttered, though he was sure the man heard him. The list of somethings began with Sabaku no Gaara, and didn't get much better as it went on.

"Tch," the man scoffed, drawing Naruto's ire. "You think you've got issues? Gaki, you don't even know what real issues _are_."

Only respect for the value of the Ichiraku's property kept Naruto from slamming his fists onto the countertop. "Who the _fuck_ do you think you are, old man?" the blond demanded, whirling to face the interloper. Blue eyes blazed as Naruto contemplated the best ways to properly eviscerate the man, only to widen comically as they beheld the source of their rage.

The man was huge, for there was no other word to describe his size, and dressed in one of the most ridiculous outfits the chunin hopeful had ever seen. A green, short skirt kimono and matching pants were covered by an almost knee length red vest; mesh armor and hand guards covered the rest of his upper body, and traditional geta covered his feet. Blood red lines ran from under his eyes to the edge of his face, standing out starkly against the pure white hair that reached the middle of the man's back.

It was the hair that gave him away, and Naruto sputtered in shock for a moment as recognition flared within him. In the distant recesses of his mind, he marveled at having now met two of the Legendary Sannin in the span of a few days.

"I've got a lotta names, gaki," the man drawled with a smile that _oozed_ smug satisfaction. "But you probably know me as Jiraiya."

All of the pent of anger and frustration that had almost been released upon the man evaporated in the blink of an eye as Naruto stumbled over himself. Later, he would curse himself for his lack of composure in front of a living legend. "I-I'm sorry, Jiraiya-sama. My name is Uzu-"

"No need to introduce yourself, kid. I know who you are," the Sannin said wryly. At Naruto's grimace he clapped him on the forearm. "Get that a lot? Lemme tell you something, gaki: being well know ain't a bad thing. It's as much a weapon as those knives you got at your waist; you just gotta know how to use it."

Naruto blinked at the odd advice as Jiraiya signaled Ayame for his check. The huge man's eyes swiveled to the girl as she approached, raking over her form so quickly that Naruto thought he may have imagined it.

"It's on the house, Jiraiya-sama. I insist," Ayame said with a smile. "It's an honor to serve you."

The man chuckled deeply, his eyes never leaving Ayame's. "Ah, but that leaves me with a problem. My waitress, a beautiful young woman, served me so well that I had wanted to leave her a generous tip. Surely you wouldn't deny such a lovely lady her reward?"

Ayame blushed at the compliments to her, and the Sannin's smile widened. "Of course you wouldn't," he concluded, taking the girl's right hand in his own. He laid a fleeting kiss on her overturned knuckles before turning it over and withdrawing, somehow leaving a small pile of coins in her outstretched hand.

With one last grin at the stunned serving girl, Jiraiya rose languidly, picking up a large scroll that had rested next to his stool and swinging it over his shoulders onto his back. Naruto stared after him in wonderment and confusion as he moved towards the flaps that served as Ichiraku's entrance. One hand parted the cloth, revealing the outside world, and he turned back with an eyebrow raised.

"You coming, gaki?" he asked Naruto, jerking his head in the direction of the rest of the village.

The blond, still motionless, processed the question in an instant before his eyes widened. Through the haze of confusion, he managed to spare enough thought to drop a few ryo on the countertop to cover his meal before he practically leapt from his stool and rushed to the exit. Jiraiya, waiting with a wry smile and his eyebrow still raised, gestured for Naruto pass through before following without a word.

The blond obliged him and exited to the busy, midafternoon streets. Blinking to get his bearings, Naruto turned to find Jiraiya, only to be greeted with the sight of the man's back making its way through the crowd of civilians doing their business. The blond scowled at the blatant disrespect, feeling his anger and frustration return, but mastered himself in a moment as he quickly followed the large man.

Despite having legs far longer than Naruto's, Jiraiya wasn't moving hurriedly. The genin caught up in a matter of seconds, pulling level with a question flying off his tongue. "Jiraiya-sama, I-"

"Hang on a second, kiddo, gotta take care of a bit of business," the Sannin said without even sparing Naruto a glance. "Hold this for me, will ya'?" The blond rushed to snatch the behemoth of a scroll before it could fall to the ground, grunting as the unexpected weight settled in his hands.

His companion had disappeared into a nearby stall, Naruto noted with growing consternation. "The hell am I supposed to do with this?" he mumbled. _The guy takes me away from lunch to hold his scroll?_ He would've wondered why he was even there, but the answer was simple.

When one of Konoha's Sannin beckoned, you went. Whatever the famous ninja wanted from him would be sorted out in due time – preferably sooner rather than later in Naruto's mind.

Doing his best to keep his mind off the building annoyance towards the legend, the blond busied himself with inspecting the scroll he had been burdened with. "What in the heavens could he be storing in here?" Naruto wondered aloud. _It's huge!_

"Things above your pay grade, gaki," Jiraiya rumbled from just behind him. Naruto – to his shame – actually started at the sudden appearance of the man. _How the _hell _did his sneak up on me?_ The scroll was unceremoniously taken from his hands and slung across Jiraiya's back before Naruto had any chance to voice his question, and the man was on his merry way again, munching on a juicy looking fruit.

Only the years of patiently ignoring the villagers' glares and whispered insults kept Naruto from visibly reacting to the Sannin's dismissive behavior. _He made me hold that thing so he could buy some fruit?_ Taking a breath to steady himself – he _hated_ dismissal – he moved after the man.

Waiting patiently for any sign of conversation to be started, and subsequently being disappointed – the man was perfectly happy to keep his silence, apparently – Naruto opened his mouth once more. "Jiraiya-sama, you haven't-"

"Gimme a second, kid, just gotta pop in here real fast," Jiraiya cut across him. Naruto was quicker in reacting to the large scroll being tossed at him the second time around, and caught it with more inches to spare.

"You gotta be kidding me…" Naruto grumbled uncharitably as the Sannin made his way into a stall with a banner that read 'Sake'. _I should just go home_, he thought. But then, it wasn't an option. By singling him out, the legendary ninja had shown an interest – of what kind, it remained to be seen – in him. Despite the almost unbelievable rudeness, Naruto's interest had been piqued, and he was forced to play along until that curiosity had been satisfied. _Fucker knows it too_, the blond mused with a scowl, remembering the smugness that had emanated from the man upon being recognized. _Asshole…_

"Ah, that's good stuff," Jiraiya sighed as he exited the booth. A bottle of newly purchased sake rested in his hand. "You want some?" he asked Naruto, snatching his scroll away.

"Um…" Naruto said eloquently, thrown by the unexpected question. He had never had alcohol before. "I prefer tea, thanks," he managed to force out.

The Sannin scoffed as he started to walk again, Naruto in his wake. "Tch, you sound like the old man. Always sipping on his tea and smoking his pipe. Fine by me. To each their own and all the more for me, I say…"

Unsure of what to say – and unsure of whether or not the man was even paying attention to him anymore – Naruto kept his silence. Inwardly, he wondered at what the man could possibly want with him. Despite evidence to the contrary, Jiraiya had to want something from him beyond just carrying around his scroll as he ran his errands. The question was what it was, and the answer was something Naruto was dying to figure out.

In the wake of Yamato's training, or, rather, the lack thereof, Naruto couldn't help but let his mind drift to the possibility that Jiraiya was looking to take him on as a student. The idea was almost too good to be true, and Naruto was doing his best to think about other things. There was no use in setting himself up for disappointment.

And if today was any indication, maybe being the man's student was more trouble than it was worth.

The silence hung over the duo as they passed out of the village proper, following a wide stone pathway that Naruto knew led to the large hot springs that were at the edge of the village. Wondering at their probably destination, the blond opted to try his luck with talking again.

"Listen, Jiraiya-sama, I'm not sure what it is you-"

He was cut off a third time, not by Jiraiya's words, but by the man's foot hurtling towards his face with enough speed to cave his skull in. Naruto stepped back hastily to avoid the kick that had come without warning, and leapt into the air. Pulling his body into a tight roll, he controlled his momentum and snatched his knuckle knives up from his waist out of reflex. Landing lightly, he lowered himself into a crouch and raised his arms to eye level.

The genin blinked in confusion when all he saw was Jiraiya standing with his foot still outstretched, a contemplative look on his face. The foot was lowered to the ground slowly as the man took in the sight of the battle ready genin.

"What the _hell_ was that for?" Naruto burst out. He still held his knives at the ready, wanting to be prepared for any more surprise attacks the insane man might throw at him.

Jiraiya was silent for a beat, his eyes appraising, before he, for the first time since the ramen stand, turned his full attention to Naruto. "You made space, never a bad thing, but I coulda killed you five times while you were in the air, gaki. Going airborne should be a last resort to avoid attacks, not your first instinct."

Stupefied at the sudden outpouring of useful advice, Naruto remained motionless. He shook himself to regain his bearings, digesting the information all the while, and lowered himself out of his defensive stance. He didn't put his knives away though, and missed the glint of satisfaction in Jiraiya's eyes at the gesture.

"So…you'd suggest a shuffle-step? Or a glide?" Naruto asked tentatively.

"I'd suggest a counterattack," the Sannin returned without missing a beat. "But to anticipate that your situational awareness and anticipation would have to be a lot better than the crap they are now." Jiraiya gave a quick sigh and scratched the back of his head. "Well c'mon then, kid, we've got some work to do."

Naruto, who had bristled at the casual slight against his skills, felt his eyes widen to almost comical size. He was at Jiraiya's side in an instant. "Thank you, Jiraiya-sama," he said with a bow, his voice quiet in near reverence. _He's actually gonna teach me!_

The Sannin waved him off with a barked laugh. "It's 'sensei' to you, kid. I appreciate the flattery, but I prefer it from women only." He tossed Naruto a wink that left no doubt as to what he meant, and let loose a hearty chuckle when the blond flushed scarlet. "Ha! So innocent. Let's go, gaki, I don't have all day to stand around."

And with that, the white haired man moved off once more in the direction of the hot springs, Naruto in his wake. The blond had a nearly giddy spring in his step as they moved closer to the hot springs, imagination running wild as he thought of everything Jiraiya could teach him. The man was an S-ranked shinobi, one of the most feared men on the continent, and had taught the Yondaime – his father. Not even his disillusionment with his former hero could take away from the man's skills in Naruto's eyes. Namikaze Minato had been unquestionably powerful, and if Jiraiya had been even a miniscule reason for that power, Naruto was in good hands.

So great were his imaginings that Naruto didn't truly notice his surroundings – something he would later berate himself for, as Jiraiya had just criticized his situational awareness – until he and his new sensei were ready to enter the baths.

The women's baths.

The genin started, taking stock of his surroundings and clearly noting that the sign above the entrance to the baths said 'Women', and not 'Men'. _Is this a test or something_, he wondered. "Um, Jiraiya-sensei…I think we went the wrong way. These are the women's baths…"

"That they are, gaki. Now let's go; I've got research to do." And with that, the Sannin casually stepped into the female side of the hot springs without any form of concealment. No genjutsu, no henge, no nothing.

Naruto was left speechless and motionless at the entrance as he watched the large man slip into the water – water that was already occupied by multiple women – seemingly without a care in the world. And it was apparently warranted, for the women around him paid him no mind at all. There was no shock; no outpouring of righteous female fury at the sight of what was clearly a man sitting among them. A man who was currently raking his eyes over every woman in the water with him with a sort of boyish glee that reminded Naruto of his excitement after executing a perfect prank.

After thoroughly appraising his company, Jiraiya turned his expectant eyes on Naruto, gesturing with his head as if to say "What are you waiting for?"

The blond, the beginnings of what had to be the largest flush of his life marring his face, glanced about furtively, making sure no eyes were on him. He took a deep breath to steady himself – _Get it together, Uzumaki!_ – and stepped cautiously into the baths. No screams of rage greeted him. His second step was much the same and, not willing to push his luck, he scampered over to where Jiraiya was lounging and lowered himself into the water. His eyes never left the stone flooring the whole time, unwilling as he was to risk catching a glimpse of the numerous naked women who had no idea there were two men in their midst.

"Ah, women," Jiraiya sighed. "One of life's greatest pleasures right here, kiddo. Savor them and treasure them, they're fickle and far better than we are."

"Yes, sensei," Naruto acknowledged, his eyes shifting anywhere and everywhere there wasn't another person. The sight of two brunettes playfully splashing water at each other snagged his gaze for a moment before he averted his eyes, his face flaming.

The byplay wasn't unnoticed by Jiraiya, who clapped him on the back with a chuckle. "_Relax_, runt, and enjoy the view. They can't see us. And you'll have to figure out how on your own," he said quickly as Naruto opened his mouth with a question on the tip of his tongue. The blond closed it with a snap and ran his left hand through his hair, partly out of frustration and partly to settle himself. Ino's light flirtations had nothing on his discomfort now.

Blinking suddenly, the blond stared at his left forearm. The slightest discoloration stood out against the sweaty skin, only visible due to the increasingly red tint to Naruto's skin. _Is that…_ "Fuuinjutsu," he breathed. His mind flashed to his encounter with his new sensei at Ichiraku's, where he had clapped him on the arm. Blue eyes snapped to the cheeky, smiling visage of the man in question and received a small nod. "How did you…?"

"A lesson for another day, gaki. You're not advanced enough for that yet, and we've got other things to cover." The suddenly serious expression on the man's face forestalled any protest Naruto had, and the boy nodded. "Good. Now, tell me, kid, what's the cup size of the strawberry blond?"

Naruto choked on his own saliva as he started at the unexpected – and ridiculous – question. "I-I'm sorry, _what_?"

"You heard me, runt. Strawberry blond, what's her cup size?" The Sannin's face was set in stone, a single eyebrow raised.

_He's actually serious!_ "Um…" Naruto trailed off. He forced his eyes to scan the women in the bath. It took him a couple of seconds to locate the lone strawberry blond in the room, who lounged with a group of four. She stretched languidly for a moment, and Naruto averted his eyes in embarrassment. "B cup?" he ventured, calling upon the very limited knowledge of women's cup sizes Kiba had seen fit to bestow upon him.

"32B to be exact," the Sannin corrected, his own eyes never leaving Naruto. "Not a bad guess, but it took you a year and a half to get it."

"I had to find her first, sensei," Naruto quickly justified, and just as quickly berated himself as he saw exactly where Jiraiya was headed with this "exercise".

"And there's your problem, gaki," the man admonished. "You never took stock of your surroundings. Were you embarrassed? Sure, but that's no excuse. We're shinobi, kid, and that means that we've gotta know what's going around us all the time. No. Matter. What."

"I…understand, sensei," Naruto acknowledged. He lifted his eyes from the water he sat in, willing himself to scan the numerous women scattered about. There were nine: three brunettes, four blondes, a single redhead, and the strawberry blond. The fire in his cheeks was steadily ignored.

"Good. We can rectify your lack of cup size knowledge later," Jiraiya chuckled. "Next question: how many kunoichi are in here?"

Naruto's brow furrowed. _How am I supposed to know that?_ Blue eyes flickered over the nine women, looking for any tip offs. All nine were perfectly at ease, with very little difference in their bearings. They all smiled. They all splashed. They all stretched. _Underneath the underneath, Naruto_.

"Two," he said finally. At Jiraiya's encouraging nod he elaborated. "Their muscle tone is sharper, more defined."

"Good. Which ones are they?"

"Third brunette on the left and the redhead, sensei," the blond answered with confidence.

"And what's the redhead's specialty?"

Naruto paused, unsure. His eyes flickered over to the woman in question once more, searching for any clues. Nothing in her build, for it was slight and athletic, tipped him off. Her shoulders and eyes were just as at ease as every other woman in the bath, including her brunette counterpart across the water. "I don't know…"

"That's 'cause you don't know what to look for. Her wrists are thicker than everyone else's in here and do you see the light markings around her chest?" the Sannin asked, gesturing to the woman's breasts. Naruto nodded, doing his best to halt the massive blush that overtook him as the redhead shifted. "Signs of taping. Now, a lot of kunoichi tape their breasts down so they don't inhibit movement, even with sports bras, but that plus her strong wrists means-"

"Close combat," Naruto finished with a nod. Jiraiya gave him a grin.

"Most likely. Knowing a ninja's specialty gives you an idea of how best to fight them, how to use certain things to your advantage and how close you might wanna get. It might be the difference between cooking someone with a fireball and getting your neck broken," the Sannin lectured. "Now, when you can determine all of that with a glance, you might be worth something as a shinobi."

Naruto only nodded his acceptance, mind reeling at the unorthodox lesson. How often had he charged headlong into fights without stopping to appraise his enemy first? _Way too many times_, he acknowledged. Often, the element of surprise had carried him through, but it wouldn't always. Not everyone would be so easily overwhelmed by his Fuuton techniques.

His mind flashed to the Wave Country mission, when he had gotten himself trapped in a brawl with a man twice his size and strength in close quarters. He hadn't been able to maneuver himself into a dominant position, and had only escaped relatively unscathed thanks to Ino's timely intervention.

"I think I understand, sensei," Naruto said, locking eyes with the Sannin. And he did. He had to be able to adapt to his opponents to a certain extent, and knowing more about them was the key.

"Good. Not bad for a first day, gaki," Jiraiya said, reaching down to ruffle Naruto's hair. The blond swatted at him half-heartedly, drawing a chuckle. "Keep what we talked about in mind wherever you go. It'll become natural eventually."

"Yes, sensei."

"Now get outta here, I've got research to do and you're cramping my style." The Sannin shooed him away with his hand, a lecherous glint in his eye as he scanned the crowd of women in the baths.

Naruto acquiesced with a roll of his eyes. "Pervert," he muttered under his breath.

"That's Super Pervert to you, kiddo, and don't ever let me catch you selling me short," Jiraiya said sternly. The genin blinked at the completely serious face and nodded hesitantly. _Super pervert it is_…

He turned to make his way out of the baths, only for the voice of his new, very unusual sensei to stop him in his tracks. "Hey, gaki. The old man said you were working on chakra control, right?"

Distantly, Naruto realized that the 'old man' was the Hokage. It was nice to know someone besides him called Sarutobi that. "Yeah," he answered.

"Take this." A sphere suddenly was hurtling towards his face. Naruto caught it with trepidation; trepidation that only increased when he realized it was filled with water.

"A water balloon?" _Where the hell did he hide this thing?_ he wondered.

"Yeah, kid. Try popping it with just your chakra and nothing else. It'll do wonders for your control," the Sannin told him. The man pulled another balloon from nowhere and held it in his open palm. Without prompting, the latex began to ripple in every direction imaginable before suddenly exploding outwards in a shower of water. Naruto felt his eyes widening at the sight. "And you might wanna buy a few more of those…" Jiraiya gestured to the balloon with a wry grin, "…it ain't easy."

"Yes, sensei," Naruto demurred, eyes on the balloon and mind full of the image that had just played out before him. Taking the man's lack of attention as dismissal, the blond turned and strode out of the baths unnoticed by the female populace.

Staring down at the water balloon in his hand, he mused that maybe things weren't quite so bad after all.

/~/


	17. Chapter 16: Path of Decision

"The only way is a sphere," Naruto mused aloud. Jiraiya's final demonstration from their first day together had played out in the boy's mind almost nonstop since, only interrupted by eating, sleeping, and sessions with the man himself. Much to his chagrin, no matter how many times he had tried, the balloon had failed to burst.

The Sannin hadn't been joking when he'd told him to stock up on balloons.

He'd managed to pop it a few times, though never in the manner that Jiraiya had demonstrated. One time he had flattened his chakra into a disk that had stretched the latex past its breaking point; another time his frustration with the seemingly impossible exercise had led him to popping the balloon with a concentrated spike of Fuuton chakra. Ironically enough, both failures had resulted in new chakra manipulations that Naruto could call his own. The Fuuton spike would be particularly potent in close combat.

Jiraiya had left him with a condescending pat on the head when he had explained himself, and only said to keep up with the attempts to pop the balloon in the "proper" way.

Which led Naruto to where he was currently: sitting cross legged in the middle of one of Konoha's many training grounds with a water balloon in his right hand. "It's gotta be a sphere," the blond mumbled. _The water was rippling at too many different points at once for it not to be. Gotta be big enough to pop the balloon too._

Eyes focused on the balloon in his right hand, he gripped his wrist to steady himself. With a single exhale chakra began to rotate inside the water filled sphere, slowly building up speed. A single ripple appeared on one edge, bringing a determined snarl to Naruto's face. With a grunt, his chakra began to rotate faster, the sphere made larger. A second ripple appeared.

Then a third. And a fourth.

In a matter of five seconds the entire surface of the water balloon was bubbling satisfyingly. Naruto removed his left hand from his right wrist slowly and carefully, managing to maintain the proper spin without the steading hand. The smallest of smiles broke across the blonde's young face as he surveyed his hard work. "Now how to pop you…"

_More chakra would make more bubbles and stretch the latex more,_ he thought. _But trying to speed up the rotation even more might do the same, and with less energy_. "That and I don't wanna blow the damn thing up in my face," Naruto told himself wryly, thinking on the likely outcome that pumping too much more chakra into the balloon would result in. "Faster it is!"

Refocusing on the still rippling latex, the blond genin tensed his right arm, focusing intently on the wild chakra spinning the water in every direction imaginable. His life energy responded to his call and began to spin even faster, the surface of the water balloon bubbling in tandem with it.

_Focus, Naruto! Foc –_ his determined thoughts cut off abruptly as a slowly emerging presence made itself known at the fringe of his awareness. It hadn't been there even an instant before. Blue eyes narrowed in annoyance, sweat beginning to pour down his forehead, at the emergence while he attempted to split his focus between assessing the threat and maintaining his exercise.

His mind reached a conclusion two seconds after the presence appeared, and his left arm snapped into action. Deft fingers retrieved a kunai and hurled it sideways towards the bushes the presence hid itself in faster than normal eyes could track. The matte black knife parted the leaves and disappeared, only to reappear less than a second later as it returned at twice its original speed.

Naruto only had time to let his eyes widen before the kunai had embedded itself hilt deep in his chest. An explosion of white smoke followed, and the water balloon dropped to the ground with nothing left to support it.

From his place in the bushes, Jiraiya smiled; he maintained the expression even as he maneuvered his shoulders to block a dropping heel that came crashing form the heavens. The burly Sannin didn't even grunt as Naruto's kick found purchase, but grabbed the offending appendage and used it to hurl the blond unceremoniously into the clearing. The genin hit the ground hard and rolled for a few feet before bursting into smoke.

"Not a bad play, gaki," Jiraiya said loudly over the crashing of the waterfall, finally deigning to step into the clearing. "But it'll take a bit more than clones and a clever substitution to get the drop on me."

Two hands burst from the pond where the water from the waterfall gathered and Naruto pushed himself to the surface with a small grunt of effort. "Just trying to get your attention," the blond said, scowling. "How long were you creeping on me for?"

"That there's a secret, kiddo. If you can't notice me sooner you'll never know." The Sannin openly grinned at the sour expression on his student's face before turning serious. "What was your objective with that kick of yours?" he asked abruptly.

"Trying to maneuver you to the left or into the clearing," Naruto returned without missing a beat. "I had a clone in the bushes and myself underwater to follow up."

"And if I had moved in some direction other than what you planned?"

"My clone was set to adapt to the situation, and I can always make more."

Jiraiya nodded once in acceptance of Naruto's point. "Make enough clones to cover all the points of maneuverability in the future. I'm sure your sensei, both of them, tried to teach you to be efficient with your chakra, but you said yourself that you can always make more clones. Not too many shinobi can do the same and it's better to be prepared for any eventuality than have to adapt on the fly, regardless of how good you may be at it. What seems like a small waste of chakra now might save your life someday." Naruto nodded, his face serious as he digested the words. "And use something a bit more lethal than a dropping heel when you're trying to get someone to move, brat. That kick may bruise but that's all it'll do."

The blond opened his mouth to argue that he wasn't about to use lethal force on his sensei – even if the man wouldn't be fazed by it in the slightest – before he remembered his first encounter with Yamato.

"_You won't succeed unless you come at me with the intent to kill_._"_

He closed his mouth before the ridiculous protest he had planned could escape, and nodded in acceptance. "Yes, sensei."

"Fantastic!" Jiraiya boomed, his good humor seemingly returned. "Walk with me, kid. I've got some serious research planned for today and I'm not gonna miss it for the world."

"The hot springs again, sensei?" Naruto asked, rolling his eyes at the lecherous man's habits. He had been on the women's side of the hot springs almost every day since the Sannin had taken him under his wing two weeks previous – barring one day when Jiraiya, being Jiraiya, had removed the cloaking seal on Naruto's arm and the blond had been chased away by three very unhappy kunoichi. A buxom blonde had started making regular appearances in his stead the day after.

"Not today! You're in for a real treat, my very lucky apprentice. I have it on good authority that there will be no less than five _exceptionally_ beautiful women enjoying a relaxing day in one of the nearby lakes…" the man trailed off, leaving Naruto a combination of exasperated, disgusted, and – to his growing horror – interested.

_Well…there are worse things_, the blond boy mused, trying not to be too disgusted at becoming more and more like his sensei day by day. If becoming a pervert was the price Jiraiya demanded for his tutelage, Naruto would pay it every day. _Who knows, maybe it'll even the odds with Ino and her damn teasing._

With that not-so-unhappy thought coursing through his head, Naruto obediently followed the perverted Sannin as they pushed their way through a copse of trees. Paradise greeted their eyes.

For Naruto, the sight of shimmering water that was all but undisturbed tucked away in some far corner of Konoha's lands looked like a slice of heaven. The sun shone brightly into the clearing, setting the moisture that hung on the low laying tree branches alight like shining diamonds. The smell of morning dew was immediately prevalent to the blond, the slight breeze that tickled his hair carrying the smell of the forest around them to his nose.

A high pitched giggle that could only belong to Jiraiya shattered Naruto's vision of Avalon. A deadpan expression covering his young face, the blond turned his attention to the five still forms resting on the grass across the water. Two eyebrows raised of their own accord.

_That Hyuga's _stacked_…how does that even work when they're that slim? That one in the purple suit isn't bad either, great muscle tone – IS THAT KURENAI-SENSEI?_ Naruto's train of thought derailed with the force of a crashing boulder at the sight of the jonin, clad in nothing but a simple black bathing suit. Her body glistened in the midday sunlight, showing clearly that she had been in the water not too long ago, and her inky black hair was slick with moisture as it cascaded down her back, contrasting sharply with her pale skin. Dancer's legs gracefully carried her to a towel that was laid on the nearby grass, each movement hinting at the power lurking just below each lightly toned muscle, waiting to be called upon.

She was a vision; gorgeous, her skin all but unmarred, her body a work of art sculpted by years of training. She was the ideal kunoichi in the flesh.

_Asuma-sensei, mad respect_…

"Now _that_ is a picture worthy of my words," Naruto heard Jiraiya murmur. "Who woulda thought Yuhi Kondo's daughter would grow into such a beauty…"

It was his sensei's words that brought Naruto back to his senses. His cheeks flaming, seemingly of their own accord, the blond hastily averted his gaze, choosing to stare resolutely at the water.

"Well this is as good a spot as any," Jiraiya concluded, giving Naruto a slap on the back that nearly sent the boy crashing to the ground. "Consider yourself lucky, kiddo. Not everyone gets to train with this kinda view."

"Wait, we're _training_ here?" Naruto asked, incredulous. "Jiraiya-sensei, those five are all kunoichi, at least one is a jonin, the rest are at least chunin, and there's two close combat experts down there! And you want to use chakra that would let them know we're here? Are you crazy?" he burst out in a harsh whisper, his mind calling up the information he had seen and digested without consciously registering it.

"Do I look crazy? Don't answer that," the Sannin quickly amended. "Look, gaki, we're so close to the training grounds out here that any residual chakra those kunoichi feel will get brushed off as just another ninja training nearby. They're not about to come running."

Naruto opened his mouth to protest, but hesitated. Jiraiya had far more experience with avoiding the women he spied on than he did, and it wasn't like he could drag the man away to train elsewhere. The Sannin was intransigent when it came to completing his "research", and could never be dissuaded from having some fine specimen of womanhood – or a few – nearby to observe. The blond had tried multiple times, to no avail. At this point he figured it was best just to roll with it and hope for the best.

"Yes, sensei," the genin grumbled, the note of respect that normally colored his tone noticeably absent. "What am I working on today?" Most days spent in the hot springs dealt with rectifying his supposed lack of observation skills, for Jiraiya always had nitpicks regardless of how much Naruto focused on his surroundings. Everything from the temperature of the steam to deriving the thickness of the bamboo walls based on echoes was necessary, according to the Sannin, much to Naruto's ire. There was always something he managed to miss.

Days where they weren't in the springs, few though they were, were spent in some training ground or another. Those days were filled with Naruto summarily getting his ass handed to him from sun up to sun down, with any break in the middle being spent picking apart his taijutsu, getting a Doton jutsu explained in detail – for Jiraiya used many – or licking his wounds. Such a style of training would be extremely impractical for anyone but Naruto, who could rely on the Kyuubi's chakra to heal him overnight, if not faster. If not for that, the sheer amount of bruising and flesh wounds he managed to accumulate as Jiraiya pummeled him would have been debilitating.

It was harsher than any training Naruto had ever been put through – Yamato's taijutsu lessons included – or truly even envisioned. But both he and Jiraiya understood the urgency that lay behind every punch, blow taken, jutsu learned: he was going to be fighting a monster come the third exam.

Normal training wasn't going to cut it.

"Eh, why don't you show me how far you've come with that exercise I gave you?" the Sannin said, eyes glued to the five women in the clearing.

Naruto scowled at the man's lack of attention, but he supposed he ought to expect it by now. The man was blind to most things happening around him when there was a beautiful woman to be ogled, or at least that's how it seemed to the untrained observer. The blond could never figure out how, but the lecher was seemingly hyper-aware of his surroundings at all times, regardless of what he chose to give his attention to.

With that in mind, he pulled out one of the dozens of water balloons he had started keeping on his person. Recalling the work he had been in the middle of when Jiraiya had interrupted him earlier, Naruto gritted his teeth and whirled his chakra into a loose sphere. Ripples along the surface formed immediately, but not enough to pop the infuriating latex.

_Faster!_ Naruto commanded himself. His teeth grinding together so much he thought it should be audible, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, the blond used every ounce of control he could muster to spin his life energy faster than it had ever spun before. More and more ripples formed, the latex surface utterly covered with them –

– and water suddenly splashed Naruto in the face as the balloon popped in a spray. "Gah–!" The blonde's scream of surprise was cut off abruptly by a large hand over his mouth.

"They may not think much about chakra being used, but they have _ears_, gaki. You wanna let them know we're right here? Keep it down," Jiraiya ordered, his expression ornery. He removed his hand from Naruto's mouth, revealing an expression caught between glee and annoyance. It looked like a grimace.

"Did you see that, sensei?" the genin whispered eagerly, letting his excitement at finally completing the exercise take over.

"No, I missed seeing you get splashed in the face by water," the Sannin deadpanned. "Congrats on completing your assignment, kiddo, only took you a couple o' weeks…" The white haired man ruffled Naruto's hair with a mocking smile, eliciting a scowl.

_What a prick…_"So…what's next?" Naruto asked, pushing his annoyance aside. He barely had time to blink before his hand reached up and plucked a ball headed towards his face out of midair on reflex. "Huh?"

Jiraiya's back was too him, focused anew as he was on the women near the water. "Pop that thing. Same way as before," he ordered.

The genin narrowed his eyes at the man's back. "Seriously, the same exercise?" White hair bobbed up and down in time with the man's head nodding, the older man refusing to turn around. Naruto stuck his middle finger out at him, turning to survey the ball.

"And don't flip me off, gaki. It's disrespectful."

_How did he…_ Naruto's thoughts on Jiraiya's supposed omniscience trailed off as he surveyed his newest adversary. It was squishy and it bounced low when the blond tested it. The surface was perforated lightly; hundreds of tiny holes were poked in it for some reason that was unfathomable to Naruto. "At least that'll give my chakra room…" his murmur trailed off, his eyebrows slowly reaching toward his hairline. _Could it really be that simple?_

"Rubber equals more density, which means more chakra…heh," Naruto spoke lowly to himself. Narrowing his eyes, he poured his life essence into the ball, every shred of his focus directed at recreating the same amount of rotation that had popped the water balloon.

Only with twice the chakra; then three times; then four; then five…

Jiraiya discreetly turned from his research to observe his student just as a ripple formed on the ball's surface. The smallest of smirks crossed his features. "Well I'll be damned…"

Naruto, too absorbed in his task to notice, finally gave up on increasing his chakra output in increments and poured every bit of life energy he could muster into the ball, his control forcing it into a rapidly whirling sphere. One ripple became fifty in an instant, before the rubber exploded outward with a "boom".

The blond fell backwards, grimacing and holding his now burned right hand in pain. "Ow." Slow clapping caught his attention quickly, and the genin forced himself into a sitting position.

"Not bad, kid. That bit ain't easy to get down," Jiraiya complimented. Naruto felt a rush of pride, the Sannin almost never gave compliments. "Well, I think that's enough for today. I'll leave you with one last thing. Pro tip, Doton: Dochuu Senkou is a great way to make a quick escape."

With that, the Sannin swiftly disappeared into the ground without warning.

"The fuck?" Naruto shook his head in bewilderment at his sensei's hasty exit. "What is he-" the blond trailed off as the sound of light splashing seemed to get closer and closer, and the feeling of incoming chakra presences assaulted his senses. The five kunoichi had heard…

"Oh, fuck you, sensei!" Naruto ground out, his eyes wide as he performed the fastest Shunshin of his young life.

He wasn't a moment too soon, as the five women, led by Kurenai, burst through the underbrush, only to be greeted with the sight of strewn latex and rubber.

/~/

"You gonna be ready?"

The question from his blonde companion registered but went unanswered in the wake of Naruto's continued slurping. He had finally convinced Ino to get ramen with him and he wasn't about to waste a moment while it was still hot. She had somehow managed to get him to get takeout and bring it up to the top of the Hokage monument – it was "their spot", she claimed – as opposed to eating it fresh in the stall. That amount of wait-time was unacceptable when the ramen was cooling rapidly, and yet he found himself with the familiar spectacular view that the top of the monument afforded.

Mindful of his manners, the blond boy finished his monstrous bite before answering, "Is that a trick question?"

"You tell me," the Yamanaka harangued, eyeing him from the side as she faced the village. "And don't say you were born ready. You're not Kiba and you shouldn't try to sound like him."

Naruto contained a pout, put out that the comeback he had skillfully planned was now off the table. At the same time, however, he recognized his teammate's tone. Ino wouldn't be asking any questions about his preparation if she wasn't legitimately concerned. "Yeah, I'll be ready. Sensei's got me working on a few things. Why you asking?"

The answer was slow in coming, prompting Naruto to actually turn and stare at his companion. Ino's sea foam colored eyes faced the village, but they were unfocused, appearing to stare at but not see the view that was before her. Her shoulders were tense, her arms flexed, her knuckles white as they gripped the stone beneath her.

"Hey," Naruto lowered his voice, tentatively laying his right hand on Ino's shoulder. The contact didn't shake her, but her face turned to his, her unfocused gaze meeting his concerned one. "What's eating you?"

Ino blinked at him, appearing to ponder the question. "I'm scared," she finally said, the words sounding uncertain as they tumbled hesitantly from her lips. "And I don't know why…" Her lips didn't quiver, her eyes had no hint of unshed tears, and her body wasn't shaking. She was just tense, coiled like a spring, ready to release in some unknown fashion at the slightest provocation.

Naruto blinked in surprise at the unexpected answer. He opened his mouth then promptly shut it, unsure of how to respond to his companion's distress. Ino wasted no time in filling the conversation's lull.

"I don't get it. We've been on missions where we've been up against guys way out of our league," the girl continued. Her voice was entirely level, without any indicator that she was emotionally distressed. "There was Zabuza in Wave, and I don't remember being scared at all. Then in Rice Country, even when Kiba and I were alone, I was focused on getting away, on getting to the next alley and away from the Oto-nin. I've never felt this way, Naruto…" She trailed off, the last sentence sounding like a plea for help to Naruto's ears.

It was a plea he didn't know how to answer.

"What are you afraid of?" he asked instead, his mind whirling to find a solution to his companion's problem.

"I…failing, maybe," Ino muttered, her eyes now cast downwards. "I don't wanna lose. But I…I don't wanna die either. And some of the people in the exam –"

"Hey," Naruto cut her off assertively. "None of that crap. You've been training with Yamato for three weeks now. You're just as good as anyone else in this tournament. Kiba too."

"Not you."

The quick response caught Naruto off guard, and he paused. There was no doubt in his mind that in a straight fight – and the third stage was a series of straight fights – he would steamroll both of his teammates. It would have been the case before the break in the exam, and would most certainly be the case after his month long stint as Jiraiya's student. He had widened the gap.

But that wasn't what Ino needed to hear at the moment.

"Don't sell yourself short," he said softly. "Both Asuma and Yamato trained us well. You can do stuff with genjutsu that I –"

"Oh, cut the bullshit, Naruto!" Ino burst out, slapping him across the chest. "We both know that you could take me and Kiba no problem. I'm not worried about fighting _you_, Naruto. I'm worried about when I fight someone else _like_ you."

Naruto was silent, unsure of how to respond to his companion's distress. Every person he had ever fought, with the exception of his short encounter with Orochimaru, he had believed that he could beat. Whether through his skill or the Kyuubi's chakra as a last resort, the blond had never encountered someone who had managed to push him out of his comfort zone before the fight had even begun. _But then I've never fought someone in a tournament before_, he realized. _I've never known who I was gonna have to fight before it started. There's never been time…_

Heedless of his silence, Ino kept on. "Every mission, every enemy I've ever fought, you've been there. And if you weren't, then Kiba was, or Asuma or Yamato. There's no one but me now…"

Realization struck Naruto like a hammer blow. Ino, like most Konoha genin, had never had to truly tackle an obstacle without the safety net of their team being there to bail them out. It was the genius of Konoha's system: success on a mission was almost never entirely on one shinobi's shoulders; it was borne by the team as a whole. The genius of the Third Exam was exactly opposite that.

"That's the point," Naruto said with finality. "By testing us individually, the Hokage can see what we're truly capable of without our senseis or teammates. Without _anyone_." It was trial by fire, sink or swim. The genin had one month to gather information and game-plan for any future opponents, and then they had to execute. In effect, it was a solo mission watered down, though no less lethal in possibility.

_You're a crafty bastard, old man_, Naruto mused with detached humor.

"We're so used to working in teams that it throws us off our game when we're not. Shit like that happens on missions that we're gonna end up leading. If we can't handle it, we don't get promoted. End of."

Ino was staring at him with realization. She blinked once, turning her face back to the village with a sardonic smile. "Then I'm already failing," she said.

Naruto had had enough. "What's _wrong_ with you?" he exclaimed, throwing his hands skyward. "You're sitting here moping about something that hasn't even happened yet. Where's your confidence, huh?"

"Not everyone's like you, Naruto!" the blonde girl nearly yelled. Her sea-foam eyes were brimming with tears. "We can't all be freakishly fucking strong genin who run through missions and enemies without a second thought. We can't all plow through anything that gets in our way. We get _scared_ sometimes…" she trailed off, wiping furiously at the tears that were now freely cascading down her face.

Unsure of how to properly assuage Ino's fears, Naruto nevertheless wasted no time in pulling her to his chest. She collapsed against him without a moment of hesitation, burying her face into his shoulder. "I'm just so _scared,_" she whispered.

Naruto rested his chin on top of her head and sighed. Give him an enemy to fight and he'd do it in a heartbeat; and yet, a crying girl had him at his wits' end trying to think of a solution. _Get it together, Uzumaki!_ Unwittingly, the image of Itachi's Sharingan eyes that had been seared into his memory burst forth. The blond shivered.

"I am too," he murmured. "Do you really think I don't get scared too, Ino-chan?" he asked gently.

"Yeah but you just keep on going, though. I freeze," Ino whispered, almost inaudibly. "When we were in Rice Fields and Kiba and I were separated from you, we got cornered and I just _froze_. No weapon, no hand-seals, no jutsu, no _thought_! Kiba was hurt, Akamaru was useless and I just couldn't move…"

"It won't happen again," Naruto said.

"You don't know –"

"I do." It was a statement of fact and nothing less. "I know because you're not gonna let it happen again. Ever."

Ino's face lifted from where it was buried in Naruto's shoulder. "How can you just say something like that?" she asked softly, her teary eyes boring into his.

"I know you, don't I?" he offered with a quirk of his lips. Blinking once, he turned his gaze outward to the village. "When we first became a team, you said that Asuma talked to you and it changed something. You said you were gonna work harder and you did, right? When you say you're gonna do something you do it." He felt her nod against him, tickling his chin with her hair. "Well now I'm talking to you, and I'm saying you're not gonna freeze next time you get scared. I want you to say it, Ino-chan," he finished, turning his eyes back to meet Ino's burning gaze.

She broke eye contact for a moment before Naruto's hand on her chin brought her eyes back to his. "Say it."

"I…I won't freeze up next time."

"Next time what?" he prompted.

"The next time I get scared," she whispered, their gazes locked.

Naruto nodded. "Now make it a promise."

"I promise that I won't freeze up next time I get scared," Ino said with finality. A grin broke across Naruto's face at the proclamation.

"Now that's what I like to hear!" he declared loudly, planting a wet kiss on Ino's lips that left her sputtering and wiping at the residual saliva.

"Idiot," the blonde girl murmured fondly, slapping him on the chest.

"Maa, so mean," he griped, rubbing at his chest. Naruto stood up abruptly. "Well! I think this calls for a trip to Ichiraku," he declared.

His companion barked a laugh. "We were just there!"

"Yeah but that was a long time ago and all the ramen got cold," Naruto reasoned. "You can't eat ramen cold, Ino-chan."

She giggled as she rose to her feet. "Fine, but you're still paying."

"Eh, the old man'll just give it to me for free." The whiskered boy waved her off as he started back towards the long staircase that led to the ground, Ino falling into step beside him. He slung an arm around her shoulders.

They walked in silence for a few moments before Ino broke it. "Naruto?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks. I really needed that."

Naruto shrugged, unsure of how to really accept thanks for doing something he wasn't all that confident at. He was no motivational speaker. "Eh, it's whatever. Just remember one thing, though."

"What's that?"

He looked at her seriously, locking eyes once more. "You can't break a promise, Ino-chan. It's not allowed."

/~/

It was well into the night by the time Naruto returned to his apartment. The small one bedroom suite was tidy, as it always was, but lived in. The low hum of the kitchen appliances was familiar now that the blond had enough money to leave them plugged in during the day. The curtains rustled in the breeze filtering in through the open window that overlooked the residential street below.

Naruto shut the front door behind him quietly, but did not lock it. He turned to face the combined kitchen and living room and stared at the empty loveseat that acted as his couch.

"I know you're there, whoever you are. You can come out now," he said quietly but firmly. Blue eyes were hard and a hand rested next to his twin knuckle knives on his waist.

The body of an old man shimmered into existence on the loveseat, and Naruto had to fight against raising his eyebrows at the sight. He was heavily bandaged, with only half of his face revealed. The bandages trailed down the entirety of what looked like his right arm, though the end was tucked into his cloak so Naruto couldn't be sure. A cane was laid across his lap casually.

"Your observation has improved, Naruto. Jiraiya has trained you well," the man stated. His calm, smooth tenor belied his apparent old age – for he looked as old as the Sandaime – and held a note of authority that Naruto immediately associated with rank.

"And what does an elder jonin want with me?" Naruto asked, taking a gamble based on what little he knew. He was rewarded with a slight upturn of the old man's lips.

"An educated guess at my rank and position to catch me off guard and take control of the conversation," the man said, causing Naruto to stiffen. "An effective, if simplistic tactic for information gathering. Far more than would be expected from a genin."

"Who are you?" Naruto asked bluntly, changing tactics.

"Someone who doesn't appreciate speaking with a clone," the man answered. Before the blond could so much as blink, the elder had raised two fingers to his lips in a half ram seal and sent a tiny, all but silent bullet of wind through his forehead protector.

Smoke erupted where the revealed shadow clone had stood, leaving the mysterious elder alone. Not a moment later, the real Naruto rose from the floor, twin knuckle knives saturated with wind chakra that caused a breeze to pick up in the small space. His appearance elicited another half-smile from the man.

"It's been some time since I've seen the Hien. Your versatility with it is to be commended," the man complimented. "You've taken it further than my student imagined when he had those knives designed."

Despite the situation and his confusion and wariness, Naruto couldn't help his mouth from dropping open. "You trained Asuma?" he asked before he could help himself.

"For a time. Futon users are hard to come by in this part of the world. I helped him refine his skills when he first discovered his affinity." The elder remained motionless on the loveseat, regarding Naruto through thin black eyes. "And to answer your previous question, my name is Danzo."

Naruto, mind reeling from the casual reveal, deactivated his knives, though he kept them held loosely at his sides. "And what do you want with me, exactly? Not used to gettin' house calls from elders with an ANBU guard."

The half-smile disappeared, giving way to neutrality and mild annoyance. "They're sloppy if they can be detected by a genin. Though you are no mere genin, I suppose."

"You've complimented me twice and I still don't know why you're here…"

"Can one not simply stop by to commend a young shinobi for his good work?"

The man was completely straight-faced, giving nothing away. Naruto had no idea if he was joking, but he didn't strike him as the type of man to joke. It didn't fit with his manner.

Either way, the blond had no idea how to respond, so he opted to remain silent. The silence held for a few seconds before the elder's lips quirked in what was the smallest smile Naruto had ever seen. "You've come far in a short time, Uzumaki. Dead last in your class to second in a few years, and now the most powerful genin in Konoha. Quite the transformation, wouldn't you say?"

Naruto remained silent, thrown by the casual assessment of his abilities. He knew he was talented, knew he was strong, but it was unnerving to hear a ranking shinobi say it in so many words. He had never been used to praise.

"I guess it is," he finally hedged. He didn't think of himself as the strongest genin in Konoha. It was a meaningless title. Walking around with the moniker wouldn't deter the likes of the Akatuski.

Across the room, Danzo regarded him with an impassive stare. "One might even wonder what sparked such an amazing turnaround. The world may never know."

The pounding of blood in Naruto's ears was almost all encompassing; the prick of sweat forming on the back of his neck making feel like he was drowning. _Could he know…?!_ his subconscious screamed impotently. Unbidden, the image of Uchiha Itachi's blood-red Sharingan flashed in front of Naruto's eyes.

"_They will hunt you, Uzumaki Naruto."_

"I couldn't tell you," he responded, his voice somehow level despite his alarm. The sound of the words on the open air seemed to reach his ears from a great distance. "I wanted to be Hokage when I was younger. Somewhere along the way I realized I'd have to actually be something more than a dead-last in order to do it."

Danzo gave the words a slow nod. The pressure in Naruto's head lessened immediately and he gave a slight exhale in relief. "An admirable goal you and I have both shared, though you speak in the past tense."

"Maybe I don't wanna be stuck behind a desk," the blond returned with a shrug. He was rewarded with another slight quirk of the old man's lips.

"Youth and its fancies of adventure and wonder." A fully formed, sardonic smile split the elder's face. "And of power…You'll learn soon enough that the front lines are worth far more trouble than the glory they bring."

_I don't care about glory,_ Naruto thought distantly. _I care about surviving_. "That sounds like a warning."

"Smart boy, you're shrewder than most give you credit for." The blond was unsure whether or not to be offended.

When the old man failed to elaborate Naruto asked, "And? What are you 'warning' me about, then?"

The ensuing silence was heavy for a moment before, "War."

Naruto blinked in disbelief. Then he blinked again, his mind not quite processing the single syllable that every shinobi dreaded. "War?" he finally managed to croak.

Danzo nodded, unperturbed by the blonde's sudden shock. "As we speak, a coalition force from Sunagakure and Otogakure is preparing to attack the village on the day of the Third Exam, two days from now."

Naruto shook his head in a vain attempt to clear it. "And the Hokage-"

"Is both aware of the situation and has planned accordingly. The jonin have all be informed, as well as select chunin squad leaders, and the ANBU are prepared for battle," the elder stated with authority. "You're being made aware of the situation because you have an assignment, A-ranked."

_Since when are jonin in the business of handing out A-ranked missions to genin?_ Naruto wondered distantly. "Which is?" he asked weakly.

"Sabaku no Gaara is the container of the Ichibi no Tanuki." Naruto started at the revelation. _He's like me_… "He is the linchpin in the enemy's plan," Danzo elaborated. "Your mission is to eliminate him."

No gray area; no room for error. Simple orders. Naruto had never been more shaken about receiving a command from a ranking shinobi in his life.

"So that's it? Just kill him."

"Without the Ichibi's power, the invasion force will have no presence within the village to properly distract from any attempt to break the outer walls. They will be herded into the outer districts and routed." The words were said with the certainty of success, and Naruto, whether due to the underlying confidence or because his own shock hadn't fully faded yet, didn't bother to question them.

"Why are you telling me this?" Naruto asked, his voice a whisper. "Why now? Why you?"

"It has been decided that informing the genin competing in the final stage would do more harm than good. The Hokage and I, however," Danzo said, "felt that you would be able to exercise a modicum of discretion and responsibility. As for 'why now?' It was only confirmed recently that you would be capable enough to carry out the mission. I merely petitioned for the honor of delivering the task. It is not every day that one gets to meet the most talented member of the coming generation."

Even through the haze of confusion and uncertainty that had settled in Naruto's mind, he realized that elder jonin didn't simply come and hand out mission orders. He knew the Hokage well enough to know that the old man would call him into his office personally. Something greater was at work here.

"And when I ask the Hokage about this mission of mine…?"

The enigmatic smile returned, as if the old man was pleased by Naruto's small defiance of his authority. "Sarutobi will confirm it. He sanctioned it, after all."

"Then why not tell me himself?"

"The Hokage is a busy man."

"And you're not?" Naruto returned.

"Possibly. Like I said, it isn't every day that I get to meet Konoha's future," Danzo said.

Naruto paused for a beat, weighing his options. The man was a jonin who looked to be the Sandaime's age. Any successful jonin who lived to be that age, let alone have the Hokage's approval to hand out high level missions, would be, if not extremely famous, known. The blond had never heard of him, much like he had never heard of Yamato, an elite jonin, before he became his sensei. _Last card…_ "Here I thought being in Black Ops would let you keep an eye on anybody you wanted."

Silence filled the room at the declaration. _Gotcha there didn't I?_ the genin thought with relish. Across the room, Danzo was impassive. Abruptly, he rose, his cane supporting him as he made for the door. "Indeed it does," he finally acquiesced as Naruto moved aside to let him pass. Opening the door, the old man paused with one foot in the hallway. "Good luck, Uzumaki. We'll be watching."

He was gone a moment later. The door closed quietly behind him, and Naruto slumped to the floor with his head in his hands.

First there was the Hokage's faith in his supposed dominance over the other genin, then Orochimaru's offer of power, followed by Jiraiya's interest, and now he was handed an A-ranked assassination mission. The combination was one part flattering and about a thousand parts unsettling. He wasn't used to getting so much attention in regards to his abilities, whether it positive or negative.

Closing his eyes and craning his neck back so that his face faced the ceiling, Naruto barked a laugh. "No pressure, Naruto. Yeah fucking right."

/~/

**Been a while hasn't it? Sorry about the delay. Between college and the rest of my life it's been tough to find writing time.  
**

**Just setting the stage for the final part of the exam here, so you'll forgive me the filler-ish material I hope. As always, thanks to the DLP crew for collective beta work, y'all know who you are. Drop a review if you will once you've read the chapter, they're always appreciated.**

**I'm so pro...**


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